


The Derivative

by Alex_Sage



Category: Numb3rs (TV)
Genre: Cannon Compliant mostly, Canon-Typical Violence, Don Eppes is a father, Episode Related, F/M, Family Bonding, Family Dynamics, Family Feels, Father-Daughter Relationship, Figuring out fatherhood, Flashbacks, Foster Care, Gen, Panic Attacks, Past Character Death, Surprise teenage kid, Team as Family, multiple POVs, past trauma, surprise kid
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:41:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 79,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23425660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alex_Sage/pseuds/Alex_Sage
Summary: Don Eppes did not see this coming. He was back in LA he was working for the FBI. He had his dad and his brother and his agents. He also had a well earned reputation. This, however, was not something he saw coming. Not the social worker at his door, not the untimely death of his ex-girlfriend, and certainly not the birth certificate the social worker pulled out of his brief case for a teenage girl with Don's name listed under father.Abby Calvin hasn’t had the easiest of lives. It’s been just her and her mom for as long as she can remember bouncing from hell hole to hell hole and never settling down. Until in one moment her life is changed forever and she’s left all alone. Now she’s living with her father who never even knew she existed, has a grandfather who's wiser than she thinks, and an uncle who might be the first person to understand her brand of genius.Don and Abby are stuck in each others lives now and their path is far from normal but they have each other and they have their family. So, they might just make it through.
Relationships: Alan Eppes & Don Eppes, Charlie Eppes & Don Eppes
Comments: 6
Kudos: 25





	1. Sixteen

**Author's Note:**

> This is an idea I've been working on and tossing around forever and I finally took the time to type and publish it. Hope you enjoy!

_“Abbs come on time to leave” Janice called into the back room at the diner._

_“Coming” the teenager replied and grabbed her backpack from the floor. Waving bye to the diner chef she followed her mother out the door._

_Janice and Abby loaded into their small sedan. The vehicle was packed full of stuff from clothes to random bit and bobs. They practically lived out of their car for the last couple years until they settled down in the latest apartment and even then they had been hesitant to finally make the move._

_“Okay so I was thinking” Janice began as she pulled out of the parking lot._

_“Oh that’s dangerous” Abby murmured with a smirk as they drove._

_Janice shot her daughter a look. “Well in a few months you’ll be turning the beautiful age of sixteen. And I was wondering what you wanted to do to celebrate? Cause if you want something big I’ll have to start saving now. But of course if you would rather run your mouth-”_

_“Hey hey hey I had to get this sarcasm somewhere” Abby pointed out._

_“Yes your father” Janice replied._

_“Yes blame it on the non-existent father in my life” Abby scoffed._

_Janice sighed “alright anyway you want to have a celebration or what?”_

_“I don’t know” Abby shrugged. “It’s not like I want a party or anything maybe us just hanging out?”_

_“How about a picnic?” Janice suggested pulling up to a red light. Abby gave her a perplexed look. “Lay out a blanket on the floor in the apartment. Get some nice food it could be great”_

_“Yeah that sounds great Mom” Abby agreed “you’re the best”_

_“I try” Janice replied._

_They both laughed as the light turned green. There was the sound of a blaring horn. The car filled with bright light Abby felt her mother’s hand collide with her chest. She heard the screech of brakes and the crunch of metal._

_“Mom!”  
_ _~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

“Abby!” Bang! Bang! Bang! “Come on get up! Your alarms been going for the last ten minutes!” 

I groaned in exhausted annoyance and rolled over in my blankets swatting haphazardly at the alarm on my nightstand. There was another round of banging on my bedroom door “I’m up! I’m up!” I yawned sitting up in my bed.

“Listen I got to get to work and you have to get to school so start moving” the man on the other side of my door ordered. 

“I am moving” I responded around a second yawn. 

“Yeah you totally sound awake” I heard him mutter. 

“Hey I heard that” I called and got a scoff in response as he headed on down the hallway. 

With a deep breath I got up and started getting ready. My room was pretty plain with a dresser and bed and a couple knickknacks strewn about. I’d only been living in it for a little less than a month which was quite apparent. Though I didn’t have much stuff in the first place. I threw on a t-shirt, jeans, plaid button up, and my well loved and sharpied sneakers. 

I headed downstairs with my backpack over my shoulder tossing it on the couch. My biological father was pouring himself some coffee in the kitchen. “Morning” He muttered as I began fixing myself some cereal. 

“Morning Don” I replied. 

“Listen with this case I’m working I’m probably going to be home late” he started. 

“Am I staying at Grandpa’s then?” I inquired. 

“Maybe not staying but you’ll be going there after school today” the FBI agent explained. 

“Awesome” I responded sarcastically “maybe I’ll get some decent food then” 

“Ouch” Don joked as his phone rang. He answered it and went into business mode “Eppes… yeah?” his face fell as he listened to the person on the other line “when? Where?” he checked his watch and I knowingly started eating faster. “Yeah alright I’ll be there as soon as I can… yeah” he hung up and started moving faster grabbing his things. 

“Case?” I asked, finishing my cereal and sliding my bowl into the sink. 

“Yup come on I have to get you to school and then go to a crime scene” he explained. 

“But I haven’t brushed my hair or my teeth yet” I objected standing up as he walked past me to grab his jacket. 

“Chew some gum and I don’t know, wear a hat” he offered. 

“They don’t allow hats in school” I explained, not dropping the sarcastic edge from my voice.

Don seemed rather frazzled. “Well then I don’t know what to tell you. Now come on” I sighed and grabbed my backpack as we headed out the door. “Since when do you care about your hair anyway?” 

I rolled my eyes running my fingers through my short brown hair “you’re the worst parental guardian ever”  
_____________  
**3rd POV.**

“Silber’s at work right now at the hospital” Terry informed as her and Don loaded into the truck. 

“Alright let’s get heading that way then” the man muttered. Pulling out of the FBI car lot. 

They drove for only a couple seconds before Terry spoke up again. “So you were late to the crime scene this morning” it was a cross between a statement and a question. 

Don sighed “yeah Abby had a late start and I had to drop her at school” 

“Right being a dad’s not that easy huh?” the woman voiced. 

Don scoffed in response. “Well I don’t know if I even qualify as a dad yet.” he explained “she definitely doesn’t call me one. This morning I was dubbed the worst parental guardian ever”

“Well she called you her parent sorta” Terry offered.

Don chuckled lightly “yeah sorta” 

“Relax Don, she's a moody fifteen year old girl who just came to live with her birth father. She needs some time to adjust” the profiler explained as they turned onto the street with the hospital. 

“Sixteen this weekend actually” Don informed. 

“Really?” Terry looked to the man in surprise. “You guys doing anything? Party? Something?” 

Don shrugged “I got her a present. A ball cap.” Terry shot her partner a pointed look “what? I don’t know what teenage girls are into these days. And as for a party with what friends?” The two agents climbed out of the car in front of the large hospital. “She hates school, never really even talks to anybody.” 

“She’s gifted right? Like your brother the mathematician?” the woman inquired. 

“In a different way but yeah” Don nodded. “Took college algebra in fifth grade from what I understand and can remember anything she’s ever read. Actually she reads anything you put in her hand faster than the average person” 

“Well then it makes sense she would hate school. She’s not learning anything” Terry voiced. 

“Yeah well they won’t put her in an advanced program cuz she doesn’t have a solid school report history” Don explained “I don’t even think she was ever in the 1st or 2nd grade even” 

Terry nodded as they entered the hospital elevator “you know it might help if you actually talk to her about it.”

“Yeah” Don sighed as the doors closed.  
______________  
**Abby POV.**

I sat in yet another class bored out of my mind. I was two chapters ahead of my teacher and classmates in all of my classes and most of the topics they discussed I had learned about already. 

“Now the derivative is a way to show the rate of change. That is, the amount by which a function is changing at one given point. For functions that act on the real numbers, it is the slope of the tangent line at a point on a graph…” 

I tuned out my teacher and rested my head on my desk. I had positioned myself in the very back corner of the classroom as to attract the least attention from my teacher and peers. Reaching into my backpack I pulled out my blinders. My medical grade sunglasses like eye cover that I put on to block out all visual stimuli. They were given to me by a doctor that examined me for my memory while I was in the foster system. 

As I rested there isolating my mind from the world I began to dwell on the various things that rested in the back of my mind. However one topic I tended to shy away from. A topic that was getting harder to avoid. My birthday.

It was coming up and I wasn’t completely certain I wanted to do anything for it. Me and my mom had talked about how we were going to celebrate it. But she was gone now and Don. I doubted he even remembered it was coming. 

The bell rang pulling me from my thoughts. I slipped my blinders to the top of my head and grabbed my stuff. Heading for the door. “Abby” I turned to the teacher who was sitting at her desk. “Can I talk to you for a second?” 

I shifted in my path for the door and walked over to Mrs. Clive’s desk. “What do you need.” 

She gave me a look and picked up a book from her desk handing it to me. “I saw your birthday was this weekend. Got you this” 

I took the book from her and looked at it. The book was Grim Grotto by Lemony Snicket. A book I had been after since its release earlier this year. “Thank you” I murmured. 

“Ms. Rampart from the library said that you had been pestering her about it since you joined us so I figured it must be something you’re interested in” Clive informed. 

“Yeah I got hooked on it and read up to current last year,” I explained. 

“You know with the monster stories you come in here with I wouldn’t have figured you for the series of unfortunate events” Clive voiced.

I scoffed “yeah and what would you figure I’d read?” 

Clive grinned back “war and peace” 

I shrugged “read that years ago” 

The woman nodded “well go on or you’ll miss your bus” 

“Thank you Mrs. Clive, for the book” I told her. 

“You’re welcome Abby and happy birthday” she smiled. 

“Thanks” I nodded heading out of her classroom. Mrs. Clive was probably my favorite teacher at this school though she was a little too observant on some things. She always took the time to ask me how I was and never got mad at me for not paying attention in class. Of course she did get annoyed when I didn’t turn in homework on time. She knew I could do it. 

I had to jog to get to my bus on time and as I was one of the last ones on I had to sit next to some kid who was half standing on the seat turned around talking to his friend. I was thankful that my stop was quick on the route. 

Hopping off I walked up to my grandfather’s house and let myself in the front door. “Abby! Is that you?” he called. 

“Yeah gramps” I called back. 

He appeared shortly after “ah hey how was your day?” 

“Fine” I shrugged, tossing my backpack on the couch. “Is uncle Charlie here?” 

“Uh yeah upstairs I think” he replied. “You want a snack?” 

“No I'm good” I settled onto the couch and opened the book Clive had gotten me. 

“The grim grotto” Alan read aloud. “Sounds interesting” 

“Yeah it’s from Lemony Snicket's series of Unfortunate Events” I explained. 

“Seems like a light read for you” the man commented sitting down in one of the chairs nearby and picking up the paper. 

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” I exclaimed exasperatedly. 

“Because you read twice as fast as the average person and have an Advanced Eiaditic memory” Alan explained. 

“It’s Advanced Eidetic” I corrected “and just because I read faster doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy a small book like this” 

“If you say so” Alan sighed seemingly annoyed with me “so what’s so fascinating about this book series anyway” 

“I don’t know” I replied honestly as I shifted on the couch pulling my feet up “I guess I can relate to being bounced around all the time from place to place under unfortunate circumstances” My grandfather made a humming noise and finally ended his questioning as I turned my attention back to my book. We both returned to our normal after school reading silence.  
____________________________  


“Donnie!” I heard my father’s announced arrival from gramps before I saw the man himself 

“Brisket. Must be Friday.” Don murmured as I came wandering out of the kitchen to see him.

“What’s up?” Alan inquired of his eldest son.

“I didn’t have time to drive home. Can I catch a shower here, maybe borrow a clean shirt?” the man requested.

“Yeah, sure, be my guest.” Alan agreed easily.

“So much for 'not staying'” I commented knowingly. 

Don sighed, turning to look at me. “Yeah sorry kid. Case took a turn” 

“It’s fine” I muttered in reply. I knew Don’s work could be trying sometimes and keep him away from home for long periods of time. Which led to me spending half my time staying at my grandfather’s house. 

“Yeah well it’s nice having you around the house anyway” Alan told me as Don turned to head upstairs. “And tell your brother to come down for dinner” Gramps called after his eldest son. 

“If the food’s done he’s probably on his way already” I joked taking a seat at the table.

Alan scoffed and turned back to Don. “you want some there’s plenty” 

“No, I can’t.” The FBI agent objected, removing his tie and tossing it on the table “I got to get back to work.” 

As Don left to go upstairs Charlie appeared. “Abby? When did you get here?” 

I exchanged a look with Alan who was pouring water into everyone’s glasses. “A couple weeks ago Uncle C” I called in a sarcastic reply. Which earned me a look from my uncle. 

I saw the man’s attention shift to the maps my father had brought in with him. I got up to go look over his shoulder at them. “Hey you two that’s Don’s work. Probably be better if you not mess with it” 

“We’re just looking at the map gramps” I responded over my shoulder as I took in the information surrounding the thirteen little red dots on this map. My brain kicked into autopilot as it began various calculations. 

“Well then just the map then none of the files” Alan ordered “you hear me”

“Yeah dad we hear you” Charlie responded this time. However from his tone you could tell his mind was somewhere else. 

“You think there’s something here?” I asked.

“Maybe” Charlie breathed out as we both continued to analyze the data. “We could help” Charlie was talking lightly both our minds processing the information on the maps with mathematical precision. “Crime scenes”

“Tracking, rating, origin point” I muttered looking at the scattered red dots. Me and Charlie looked at each other both realizing the same thing at the same time.

“Charlie, Abby, what do you think you’re doing?” I turned as Don’s voice came from behind. He was done with his shower.

“Crime scenes” Charlie replied seemingly unaware of Don’s obvious annoyance “what kind of crimes?”

“Get away from here” Don snapped folding up the map quickly “these are confidential case files”

“I already saw the map it’s imprinted on my memory” I replied pointedly. “It doesn’t really matter whether you put it up now or not and we didn’t get in the files.”

“She’s telling the truth.” Alan called from where he was feeding his pet bird. “They just looked at the map. I made sure they didn’t go through anything else.”

“Good,” Don grumbled, grabbing his tie.

“Thirteen crime scenes spread over a contained region. You guys are analyzing the significance of those locations?” Charlie inquired of Don as the older brother tied his tie in the mirror on the wall. I stayed over by the table Charlie followed him.

“Yeah, it’s called predictive analysis.” Don explained “the FBI pioneered it. I trained in it at Quantico, and it doesn’t work on sado-serial crimes. There’s no way to predict the location of the next attack.”

“You know, I helped you out on that stock fraud mess,” Charlie began and I rolled my eyes at his obvious bid. “And the IRS extortion case.”

“Yeah. This is different.” Don objected finishing his tie and turning away from his brother “it’s not about numbers”

“Everything is numbers” Charlie stated and looked to me as Don grabbed his jacket. I shrugged beyond a couple theories there was nothing that I could see us being able to help with or at least not that I could with my limited knowledge. Uncle Charlie sighed and turned to the backyard something caught his eye and I watched as the gears turned in his head. “Don. Hey.” he turned quickly and went after his brother. “Um, can I show you something really quick?”

“No, Charlie I got to get-” Don attempted to argue but his rebellion was futile. As Charlie continued to pester and managed to draw him over to the window facing the backyard. I followed behind them curious to what the mathematician had come up with.

“Check this out.” Charlie gestured outside “you see the sprinkler, yeah?”

“Yeah I see the sprinkler” Don muttered clearly uninterested.

“You see the drops?”

“Yep. See the drops”

Then it clicked in my mind what he was thinking “Even using math there’s no practical way to predict where the next water drop will land” Charlie began his explanation and I walked closer. “There’s too many variables. However, say I couldn’t see the sprinkler. From the pattern of the drops, I could calculate its precise location.”

“The origin point” I voiced.

Charlie flashed me a proud grin then turned back to Don who seemed to slowly be getting the idea “it’s not about predicting the next site. It’s finding what the sites have in common. The point of origin” he nodded to me.

“Charlie, you’re saying you can tell us where the killer lives?” Don inquired.

“Yeah” the mathematician nodded.

“And I can help,” I added.  
____________________________

“The movements of a serial perpetrator are defined by his needs. He watches potential victims. Avoiding detection, he’ll frequent public areas, parks, streets that don’t get a lot of traffic, waiting for moments of isolations.” Don explained pacing back and forth in the dining room. 

“Isolated areas, high probability of attacks.” Charlie murmured scribbling on the pad of paper in front of him. 

“Tv distracting you?” Alan inquired as he passed by the table from the kitchen. “I could turn it off” 

“No, it's fine, dad.” Don objected, he glanced over at me sitting in a chair in front of the tv and I quickly diverted my eyes as the brother’s continued to talk. 

Moments later Alan came over and sat down in the seat next to mine. I sighed and turned to my grandfather “This is so unfair I can help” 

“You’re a teenager Abby not an adult” Alan replied with his eyes on the tv. “Let them work” 

“I'm a teenager with a near genius IQ living with an overprotective jerk” I muttered. 

“I heard that” Don called from where he sat on the table. 

“Yeah well it’s a fact” I called over to him. 

“She is capable Don” Charlie agreed “and her help would be valuable”

“I said no I mean no. You’re just a kid. You don’t have clearance and I’m not letting you get involved in a criminal case” The agent put his foot down. “Now can you just listen to me for once?” 

“I listen I just don’t follow” I muttered scooting down in my chair. Alan shot me a look out of the corner of his eye. 

“I get the sense that this is about more than just you wanting to help on this case” the elder man inferred. I crossed my arms and tried to focus in on what Don and Charlie were saying. “This wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with your birthday being this weekend.” 

“It’s not about that” I objected in a tone that was probably more snap than I intended. Sitting up I saw Don looking at me. I sighed, getting up and heading out to the backyard I couldn’t deal with this today.  
__________________  
**3rd POV.**

Don left Charlie to do his equations and settled to watch the baseball game with his father. “You going to go talk to her?” Alan inquired after a moment.

Don sighed glancing over to the back door Abby had stormed out of. “No she needs to cool off” 

“Still” the grandfather muttered. 

“Still what? She’s a teenager, you really want me getting her involved in a criminal case?” Don voiced. 

“No, no that’s not what I’m saying Don” Alan sighed “listen it’s her sixteenth birthday this weekend” 

“Yeah” Don muttered “I know I got her a present” 

Alan let off an annoyed breath “Donnie it’s her first birthday without her mother. It’s her first birthday with a father.” Don sighed and looked to the ground. “Have you even talked to her about Janice at all?” 

Don shifted in his seat “I don’t know dad she doesn’t want to talk what am I supposed to do?” 

“Donnie there’s a difference between not wanting to talk and not knowing how to,” Alan explained, “and unfortunately it’s a trait she seemed to have inherited from you.”  
___________________________  


“Let’s go” Don ordered the gathered group of agents. Heading for his desk as they dispersed to get everything done. 

“Another day” Terry voiced over his shoulder he glanced back at her before refocusing on his files. “That means the case cuts into Abby’s birthday this weekend doesn’t it?”

“Yeah well she’s staying with my dad” Don muttered, closing the file and tossing it aside. 

“Are you at least going to call her or something?” Terry inquired.

“It’s too late now I will in the morning” the man replied, rising from his desk and heading off. 

Terry sighed watching him walk away. “Yeah if you remember”  
________________  
**Abby POV.**

_White light filled my view, tires screeched, horns honked, a hand slammed into my chest, the crunch of metal, a scream. “Mom!”_

I startled awake sitting up on the couch. Thunder rumbled outside. I removed the blinders from my eyes. “Abby are you alright” I turned as Alan came into the living room. “I heard you yell.” 

“Uh yeah” I replied as my heart rate slowed back down. “It was just a dream” 

“Are you sure you’re alright?” the man inquired further. However just then the door opened and in came Charlie. He looked like a drowned rat. “Aw Charlie don’t tell me you went biking out in this weather” 

“I had to go by my office” the man replied as he settled down at the table pulling the FBI case files out of his bag. He was obviously shaken by something. 

The front door opened again and in came Don. “Hey guys, what's up?” he asked, seeming deflated. “Charlie you’re soaked” 

“Yes I’m aware” the younger man replied. 

Don removed his jacket and went for the coffee in the kitchen as I wandered over to the dining room. Which seemed to be the place everyone was congregating. Our reflections shown in the darkened rain streaked windows. Don reappeared shortly after with a mug of coffee. He placed it on the table and began pacing the room. 

“I can’t get my head around it.” Charlie voiced after a moment. 

“What are we missing?” Don ran along the same thought “where’s the problem? And how do we make it work? We need to make it work” he stated the last part more forcefully. 

It was weird watching him work. The gears turning in his head. “We need to retest it. We need another run.” Charlie declared standing and going up to Don who was still pacing. 

“Well that’s not going to happen” the agent objected, turning to his younger brother. 

“Well, look I know that it’s gonna be hard for you to talk your boss into doing it again,” the mathematician tried “but we can’t stop after one attempt-” 

“Charlie” Don tried to interrupt however the professor continued to truck on. 

“New methods require repeated trials-” 

“Charlie, I’m not on the case anymore.” Don explained finally. “Okay?” 

“Why?” Charlie inquired. 

I sighed and watched the look exchanged between Alan and Don. “because my supervisor wanted fresh eyes on it.” I could tell he was lying. 

“Well, maybe the math is not the problem” Alan suggested suddenly. 

“What do you mean?” Charlie questioned. 

“Well, you just said that there was something you couldn’t get your head around,” Alan elaborated further “and I know for a fact that it can’t be the math.” 

“What else is there?” Charlie sighed. Then it clicked like it was obvious.

“The people” I voiced causing all of them to look at me like they had just realized my existence. “The math can only predict what people will do acting within certain parameters what if this guy acts outside of your preconceived notions of human behavior?” I offered. 

“Hey, maybe they’re right” Don nodded walking past me back to the window to point at the water spraying outside. “I mean, this sprinkler. That totally made sense. That you could track back from the location and find out where the guy lives. Right? Totally made sense.” he turned from his father and brother to look at me. “Maybe we’re thinking about this guy in too narrow a focus.” 

“Are you saying I need to consider more than his criminal activities?” Charlie seemed confused. 

“No not exactly” Don explained “I’m saying we maybe need to consider more than just where he lives. Like Abby said. You know look at me. If you designed an equation to find my origin, you wouldn’t get my apartment ‘cause I’m almost never there. My base would be my office.” 

I looked to Charlie as he meandered over toward the window the gears in his head spinning. The math forming in his mind. “Which means we use his home and his work as points of origin.” 

“Exactly” Don agreed. 

“I can design an equation to identify two hot zones.” Charlie muttered eyes still transfixed on the window. “Why didn’t I think of that?” he questioned, turning back to us. “Don… Dad… Abby.” he looked to us each individually. “That’s brilliant” 

It wasn’t long before the boys were packing it up and heading back to Don’s office. Both invigorated by the discovery. Once they were gone Alan turned to me. “You should get to bed, it’s late and tomorrow is a rather important day.”

I nodded slightly as he turned to head to the kitchen “Do you think he knows?” I voiced almost not meaning to. “Do you think Don remembers that it’s my birthday tomorrow?” 

Alan sighed looking back at me. “Abby, Don can get wrapped up in his work but uh, he’s never been one to forget what’s important.” I bit my lip and looked to the floor thinking. “Alright now up to bed” 

“Goodnight gramps” 

“Goodnight Abby” the man smiled at me as I headed for the stairs. 

I reached the room that had at one point been Don’s and collapsed on the bed. My world had been a lot smaller when it was just me and my mom. A lot scarier and a whole lot less normal but definitely smaller and less complicated.  
_________________________  


I was startled awake again from the same dream, the same memory. I slowed my breaths and got up from the bed. Dawn had barely set in and light wasn’t very prevalent outside. I paced back and forth in the room. Thinking over everything before finally making a decision. 

I threw on some clothes, grabbed my backpack and headed out of the room. I crept through the house quietly as not to wake Gramps snoring down the hall. As I reached the front door I paused looking back at the house before ducking out and running.  
____________________  
**3rd POV.**

Don sighed as he packed away the last couple files on his desk. The case was finally closed and he was exhausted. He glanced over and saw a small stack of books on his desk wrapped in a bow. He pulled it closer to him and looked at the card on them. To: Abby From: Terry. 

“Figured you could give it to her for me” the female agent spoke up causing Don to turn to her. 

“Yeah sure” he agreed. 

Terry gave him a smile. “Go home Don and celebrate your daughter’s birthday” she instructed him. 

Don nodded as she left. He sat there for a moment thinking about everything today meant. Sixteen years ago today he had become a father and he hadn’t even known it. Then a couple weeks ago he had been told and expected to start acting like a Dad. Don sure didn’t feel like a father. Anytime he talked to Abby it felt weird like he couldn’t find the words or she would just give him sarcasm. It was easier just not to talk at all. He had no idea what he was doing and she certainly didn’t seem to want him around. 

Don let off a breath and rose from his seat gathering up his things. Then his phone rang glancing at his caller ID he was surprised to see it was his father “hey dad what’s-”

“Abby’s missing” Alan interrupted. 

Don immediately felt like he couldn’t breath. His heart rate picked up and his lungs felt empty. “What?” 

“She’s missing. Gone.” Alan repeated he sounded scared himself “I went to wake her up this morning and she just wasn’t there” 

Every worse case scenario started shooting through Don’s mind. Where could she be? Could she be hurt? Kidnapped? Lost somewhere? Scared? He couldn’t think straight as fear coursed through his veins. 

“Alright call the cops put out an Amber alert” Don suggested “see- see if she’s with Charlie or something. I’ll try her cell and go look at- ah the library, the apartment. Places she might go” 

He was talking extremely fast he realized as the cop side of him battled with a side of him he’d never felt before. A kind of pure terror and concern that he couldn’t even begin to quantify as he grabbed his coat and bolted for the elevator hanging up on his father and speed dialing his daughter’s number. She didn’t answer. He tried again and again as he reached his car. This couldn’t be happening. Where was she?  
___________________________  
Don was driving away from the library as his phone rang. He answered it without even glancing at the caller ID hoping to hear his daughter’s voice on the other line. He was disappointed. 

“Don”

“Charlie I can’t talk right now. Abby is-” 

“I know Dad told me” Charlie informed “He also said she was upset-” 

“She’s always moody Charlie what are you saying?” Don snapped probably a little more harshly than he meant to. 

“I think I know where she is” Charlie spoke quickly as not to be cut off by his frantic older brother.  
________________  
Don cursed himself for not realizing it sooner. After all his worrying and frantic searching why hadn’t he looked here first? As he pulled to a stop and got out of his truck he felt himself slow as relief washed over him. 

Sitting in the grass not too far off was Abby. She was staring at one of the various stones of the cemetery. Don sighed and walked over to her somberly. 

Nothing was said as he sat down next to her. He didn’t need to read the name of the stone to guess whose it was. Janice Calvin. His ex-girlfriend and Abby’s mother. 

“You know you scared everyone half to death” he finally stated after a moment. 

“Sorry” the girl replied looking to her feet. “I should have left a note or something. I just wanted to be alone here for awhile.” 

“Yeah” Don let off a breath just relieved she was okay.

“It’s my sixteenth birthday” Abby muttered turning back to the stone but still not looking at him. 

“I know I got you a present,” Don replied softly. 

“Mom and me had been planning my sweet sixteen before..” Abby trailed looking to the ground. “It was just going to be the two of us. We were going to cook and have a picnic in our apartment. We couldn't do much because you know we didn’t have a lot of money. But we were going to have each other.” 

“I’m so sorry Abby” Don told her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders hesitantly. “Your mother loved you” 

“I know she did I just- I just miss her” Abby sniffed and for the first time. Don saw his daughter cry. He felt a part of him inside falter. Like something had broken or shifted. 

“I miss her too.” Don explained. “Your mother was an incredible person. And my biggest regret was letting her go” 

“Do you think if she would have stayed- if she would have told you,” Abby questioned. “That things would have been different? That we would have..” The girl trailed but her question was clear. 

“I don’t know Abbs but” Don sighed and finally he understood what his own father had been trying to tell him all this time. “Abby I have no idea what I’m doing here. I’ve missed so much of your life to the point I- I didn’t even know what to get you for your birthday. I just-” he paused biting his lip. “I just feel like we’ve both been living with each other these last few weeks and not actually trying to have a relationship because it’s scary and complicated but Abby.” he sighed “today when dad called and told me you were missing.. I’ve never been more scared in my entire life.” Abby looked up at him as tears streaked down her face. “Now I know your mom loved you and Abby so do I alright?” 

“Alright” she managed but in the next second Abby wrapped her arms around Don’s middle as she broke into sobs. Don just held her in his arms holding back his own tears.  
__________________  
**Abby POV.**

It was late. After the cemetery Don had called and told everyone that I was safe. I felt bad putting them through all of that. I just hadn’t realized how many people would freak out had I gone missing. I was sitting at my desk in my own room reading one of the books Terry had gotten me quietly. 

There was a knock on my door. I paused in my reading and rose from my chair. Opening it I wasn’t exactly surprised to see my father standing outside. “What?” I inquired with minor annoyance at being disturbed. Though after everything that happened today I didn’t have much energy left to be annoyed. 

“Come on I’ve got a surprise for you” Don replied ignoring my sarcasm. 

“What?” I repeated exasperatedly curious for what this surprise could be. 

“Come on” Don scoffed, ushering me out of my room and toward the living room. I dragged my feet and had to practically be shoved out by my determined father. 

My irritated rebellion ended however as we exited the stairs. The coffee table had been moved and various colorful lights were hanging all around. In the center was a blanket laid out with something like a picnic setting. “Now I know it’s probably not exactly what you and your mom planned but..” Don sighed stepping around to look me in the face as I stared around in awe “Happy Birthday Abby” 

“Thanks D- Don” I replied. Stumbling on the name as the word Dad nearly slipped from my mouth. He smiled and we settled down on the blanket to eat. Talking and laughing and joking. It was a fun night and after all of it I was really happy to have my dad in my life.


	2. Shots

I stared across the darkened classroom at my blinders. They were perched in captivity on my history teachers desk. Stolen away from me and promised release upon the end of class today. The teacher himself was blathering on about something that I didn’t find important about how history continues on today. It seemed rather a redundant point to make. Of course we were living history I mean at one point every person we learn about in history had been in their present time.

There was movement in the corner of my vision and I turned to see Mr. Hopkins had turned on the tv in the room. “...let’s see what’s on the news nowadays as an example.” after flipping past a couple static filled channels Hopkins finally found the news station he was looking for.

I was about to turn back to my thoughts when I caught what the reporter was saying “This is a live breaking report from the channel 8 news. Flying over Central Los Angeles Savings Bank. I can see multiple people lying on the ground. One appears to be a federal agent several bystanders also seemed to have been injured in the crossfire, where the shoot out between federal agents and suspected bank robbers is in progress...”

I felt like ice water had just been pumped through my veins. I froze completely in shock. I remembered back to just the other night when Don had asked Charlie for help tracking bank robbers. Could it be the same robbers? Could Don be in the shootout? Was he injured? The class continued to watch through a car explosion and more gun fire and more cops arriving. Even into the aftermath.

“I’m receiving confirmation that three people were killed in his tragic incident one of which being an FBI agent. ” The bell rang and Hopkins turned off the tv. Seeming only to have been half listening. Most of the students in the class only seemed to be half listening.

I however was shaking. I was terrified. What if it was Don? What if he was dead? Shot down in front of a bank. I swallowed the lump in my throat rising from my desk with the rest of my classmates. I sweeped by the teacher’s desk and rescued my blinders before heading into the hallway.

My next class didn’t seem at all important as I ducked into the bathroom and locked myself in a stall. I pulled out my phone and speed dialed my father’s number. He didn’t pick up. I tried again. More of the same. I tried Alan; he didn’t answer either nor did Charlie. I repeated Don, Alan, Charlie. No one would pick up their phone. After hearing my father’s voice mail for the fifth time. I pocketed my cell and grabbed my backpack.

The hallway was clear as the final class of the day had already started. I headed straight for the exit. I was going to catch a bus to Alan’s house and get some answers. I was stopped by a hand on my shoulder.

“Abby Calvin” the voice spoke. I turned to see none other than the school principal smiling down on me with a fake grin. “Skipping class are we?”

“Sir I was-”

He held up a hand “this is the third time in the last two weeks you’ve skipped a class. It’s not happening again, come on” he led me to the office.

The rest of my time at school was taken up by me being talked at by the principal. I tried to explain what was happening multiple times. He wouldn’t hear it and I was given a note for Don to read when I got home. My stomach churned as I imagined him shot to death in front of a bank. I quickly banned the image and beat my imagination into submission.

I tried each of the men I called family again twice on the bus before I was let off at the apartment building. I hurried up to my and Don’s apartment and let myself in. I threw my backpack on the couch and turned on the news grasping for any information that it might tell me.

As I sat watching the various unrelated news streams and casters talking about things I could care less about. I felt a sharp pain hit my head like a rock and with a blink I suddenly wasn’t sitting on the couch in Don’s living room.

_I was crouched by a fire. I could hear the rain. People were talking all around me, there was music, laughing. Then there were shots. They echoed loudly in-_

I stood and shook my head like it was wet. Pushing away the intrusive memory. I grabbed my binders out of my pocket putting them on and taking multiple deep breaths to try and calm down. I didn’t want to think about that. I didn’t want to think about her.  
_________________  
 **3rd POV.**

Don sighed sitting down on his desk and pinching the bridge of his nose. Tonight was not going well for him. His arm hurt and his head hurt. Worse he had just gotten back from talking to Agent McKnight's parents at their hotel. Nothing hurt worse than the look on McKnight’s mother's face when he told her what happened.

“I should be looking at mugshots, right?” Don voiced to Terry who was at her own desk nearby.

“Did you get a good look?” she inquired.

“Yeah, definitely” the man muttered in reply. Just then his phone rang. He pulled it out and glanced at the caller ID. It was Abby he was about to answer it.

“Agent Eppes.” Don turned to see the forensic scientist had appeared nearby. “That piece of evidence you found at the scene. We know what it is”

“Excellent” he told her and glanced back at his phone declining the call from his daughter and making a note to call her back once he got a chance. Then him and Terry followed the scientist down to her lab.  
________________________  
Don reached the door to his apartment and began digging for his keys with a sigh. This case had taken a major turn and it was really late. He wasn’t here to rest though he was here to pick up Abby and take her to his father’s house. Alan could watch over her while Don worked late at the office on this case. As he turned the knob of the door he grimaced at the shot of pain his arm gave him. Then he entered his apartment and heard the immediate stomping of feet running to the door.

“What the hell were you thinking!?”

It took the FBI agent a moment to register the unexpected outburst to be coming from his daughter. “What?” he asked, confused.

“You were getting shot at!” Abby yelled walking up to him. “It was all over the news! An agent was shot and another was dead and I didn’t know who was who because you wouldn’t pick up your goddamn cell phone!” she yelled.

Don thought back to all the times he had dismissed her calls that day. He hadn’t thought anything about it at the time. However now he realized how stupid it had been not to let her know he was alright. “I’m sorry Abby I-”

“You could have been dead for all I knew!” she cut him off “and where would that have left me? Huh?” Her voice broke.

“Abby I risk my life everyday” Don explained trying to keep his voice level and calming.

“I know but you can’t just act like I’m supposed to be okay with it or just leave me in the dark to suffer you unbelievable jerk” she shoved him harshly in her anger.

“Abby. Abby. Abby!” Don tried to get her attention to make her calm down as she whacked at his chest and struggled against him in anger.

“I already lost my mom, I can’t lose you to Dad!”

Both parties froze at her last outburst. The anger in Abby’s face faded as she realized what she had said. “You just called me Dad” Don muttered.

“No no I said Don” Abby objected.

“No you said Dad” Don countered a small smile threatening his face. Despite the circumstance it was the first time she had ever called him that.

“No I said Don” the girl muttered.

“You called me Dad” Don let off a light chuckle.

“Oh shut up you stupid sperm donor” Abby grumbled as he pulled her into a hug.

“Are you done yelling now?” he inquired. Abby nodded into his chest. “Then listen cause the truth is I’m sorry I should have told you I was alright rather than just leaving you in the dark. I just- I’m still figuring out this father thing alright. We both are and I’m sorry but risking my life and possibly getting shot at is my job” Abby squeezed him tighter “but I will make this promise to you though. For every moment I am alive I will be fighting to make it back here to you. Alright?”

“Alright” Abby nodded as they stepped apart. “Donald”

Don sighed “Dad things not staying huh?”

“I wouldn’t bet on it” Abby replied with a smirk that mirrored her fathers.

“And here I was actually liking the idea of being called Dad” Don murmured. They both chuckled lightly.  
_______________________  
 **Abby POV.**

Me and Don pulled up outside Gramp's house and loaded out of the truck. Alan came out to meet us near immediately with a look of concern clear on his face. “Donnie, you all right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m okay. It’s fine- ow! Ow!” he exclaimed as his father touched his injured arm. “Look it’s just, my arm’s a little sore.” he addressed the blatant concern on Alan’s face. “I got a- a scrape during an incident.”

I rolled my eyes at the lame excuse coming over to their side of the driveway. “A scrape? From what?”

“Well, a bullet, if you have to know” Don muttered with a sarcasm very much like my own.

“A bullet oh my g-” Alan exclaimed immediately.

Don quickly spoke over him “but it’s not… dad, please listen to me, okay?Just relax. We had an arrest go bad, and we lost an agent, okay? And three people died”

“It was all over the news” I added “check your voicemail I left messages”

“My word” gramps breathed out in shock.

“Now I’m dropping this one off and looking for Charlie. Where is he?” Don questioned.

“He’s out in the garage with Larry.” the other man informed. “He’s upset. I can see why now.”

“What’s he doing in the garage?” Don asked, confused. I had to admit I was confused as well last I heard they only used the garage for storage and laundry.

“He’s just working on that problem. You know.” Alan spoke directly to Don. “the problem he can never solve.”

“The P vs. P thing?” Don inquired.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s the one.” gramps nodded.

“Aw man” Don groaned in aggravation. I got the sense there was more going on here than I was privy to.

“Wait do you mean P vs. NP?” I looked between the two men. “The millennium prize problem?”

Neither seemed to be listening to me as Don started trucking toward the house. “Where are you going?” Alan called after him.

“I got to talk to him.” the son replied “I need a new equation”

Alan seemed as though he wanted to say more but Don had already disappeared into the house. “What’s the problem with Charlie working on P vs. NP?” I asked.

Alan sighed and looked to the ground “It’s not Charlie working on the problem that’s well the problem Abby. It’s why” I thought on it for a moment but was still not sure what he was saying. “Come on” he finally spoke up. “I’m assuming you haven’t had any kind of dinner yet” I nodded and followed my grandfather inside.  
________________  
 **3rd POV.**

Don came storming into the kitchen from talking to Charlie. It was aggravating after everything that happened with McKnight and the shootings. Charlie should be motivated to stop these guys but instead he just such down. Don was a kind of frustrated that only his little brother could make him whether it was rational or not and he knew it.

“Are you okay?” Don turned to see Abby perched sitting cross legged on the kitchen island. She was eyeing him quizzically.

“Yeah” he answered immediately “no.” he answered honestly “been better” he finally decided to go with. Abby nodded and bit her lip in a way that for half second made Don feel like he was looking in a mirror before he brushed the thought away “what are you doing in here?”

“Thinking” the girl replied honestly holding up her blinders which the man could infer she had just removed. “Gramps and your partner Terry are in the living room. She’s nice. I thanked her for the books she got me for my birthday.”

Don nodded and let out a breath feeling his irritation slowly ebbing away “yeah I’ve known Terry for a long time”

“Really?” the girl inquired.

“Yeah about ten years. We met in the academy” he explained.

“FBI academy?” she quizzed further.

“Yeah” Don nodded and a small grin came to his face “what you think I learned all this on the streets. Trial by fire style?”

Abby laughed slightly. “Well I don’t know I’ve only known a real FBI agent for the upside of a month”

Don scoffed and looked to his shoes. “Yeah”

“Is Charlie helping with this bank robbing case still?” Abby inquired, glancing toward the backdoor through which Don supposed she must have been able to hear the shouting.

“Apparently not” Don grumbled. “All he wants to do is work on the stupid P vs. P thing he’s completely shut down.”

“I can’t really blame him for being worried” she stated “and neither can you Don. You could have died and Charlie’s the one who sent you to the bank where the shooting happened.”

Don sighed and looked at his daughter quizzically “yeah I know but like I told you it’s my job to get shot at and I can’t change that. The more he helps though the less likely it is for that to happen and he just doesn’t want to help”

Abby looked like she was about to respond when the door to the kitchen opened and Terry stepped in “hey Don sorry to interrupt but we have to get back to the office.”

“Yeah coming” the man replied to his partner. Then turned to his daughter “I’ll see you later kid”

“Bye Don” the girl replied.

Don nodded and followed Terry out of the kitchen. Thinking in the back of his mind that he really wished she would have said Dad.  
__________________  
 **Abby POV.**

I walked slowly down the stairs of the house heading for the living room. Two books in hand that I wanted to read. I was mildly preoccupied with my own thoughts to the point that I didn’t realize Charlie had returned from the garage until I was about to turn the corner. I paused out of sight of the two men in the living room as the younger spoke.

“Dad. I’ve been working on a problem.” he explained “P vs. NP, it can’t be solved.”

“I think you knew that when you started” Alan replied wisely flipping through his paper.

“I could work on it forever, constantly pushing forward, still never reaching an end.” Charlie admitted. I bit my lip realizing I shouldn’t be listening in on this conversation however my feet wouldn’t move from the place they had planted themselves.

“You know, sometimes you want to think that things don’t end.” gramps mused “but they do.”

“When mom was sick I couldn’t stop working on it.” Charlie’s voice was breaking and I felt something clench in my chest. I had gathered enough knowledge about Margaret Eppes, my grandmother, to know she had died of cancer about a year ago. None of them really talked about it in excess. It was still fresh in their minds. Like my mom’s death and the state of mourning it procured were still fresh in mine.

“Yeah. I know.” Alan spoke to Charlie gently. “I didn’t get it. Uh, not then. And your brother sure doesn’t understand why you spent the last three months of your mother’s life working on a math problem.” I shifted on my feet listening despite my growing urge to leave “But Charlie, you mother she understood why. Because she knew how your mind worked.”

I finally pried myself off the wall and left the house. I wandered through the yard to the garage. My mom knew how my mind worked to. Even though she couldn’t think like I did she always understood why I behaved like I did. She knew what was in my head.  
_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_  
 **3rd POV.**

_Abby sat another book on her already read pile. Grabbing a new one from her, going to read pile. She had just opened the cover when there was a clearing of the throat from the entrance to the small nook she had claimed in the back of the library._

_She looked up to see her mother standing there, arms crossed. “Busted huh?” The girl asked._

_“Uh huh” the mom responded. Removing her purse from her shoulder she sat down across from her 14 year old on the floor. “I got another call from the school. You know most moms when their kid ditches don’t check the library first.”_

“But you know better” Abby commented with a smirk.

_“Yeah I do kid but you still have to stop skipping school even if it is to go read books” Janice stated._

_“But the classes are pointless and boring” Abby objected. “They want to either put me in the need help classes because of my spotty elementary school education or in equally boring regular courses and then are shocked when I ace it all” Abby explained adamantly. “It’s patronizing”_

_Janice sighed “I know I asked again about the advanced courses but they are still sticking to their plan”_

_“If they’d just give me the chance I could show them” Abby muttered._

_“You’re a brilliant girl Abbs one day people will see that” Janice reassured. “But you still have to go to school” Abby groaned “Hey, hey it’s not just about the school work maybe you could make some friends. You know you can’t hide in the library forever. Eventually you will run out of books. Especially at the rate you read”_

_Abby nodded “yeah I know. But people are well… people”_

_Janice smiled slightly “yeah they tend to be like that. What are you reading there?”_

_Abby glanced down at her book. “I don’t know haven’t started it yet”_

_Janice smiled “alright then you read I’m going to grab a computer and do some of my school work for my new online classes”_

_“Mrs. Wiat wasn’t kidding about homework never ending was she?” Abby commented as Janice got to her feet the woman chuckled lightly with her daughter._  
_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_  
 **Abby POV.**

I was sitting in the garage with my blinders on just absently thinking when I heard someone else walk in. I raised up the blinders to see it was Charlie. He plopped down in the chair nearby and grabbed his laptop.

After a moment he glanced up at me “Abby’s why are you sitting on the floor?”

I shrugged “it’s comfortable”

The man wasn't interested in discussing the topic. “So your millenium problem.” I gestured to all the boards around us. “Are you going to keep working on it?”

Charlie froze in the typing he had been doing. “I don’t know but, it can wait”

“And Don can’t” I finished his thought. Charlie nodded slightly and continued on his computer. I half wanted to talk to him about my mother for some reason. As I felt he might understand. I wanted to tell him that my mom got it too. However, I didn’t want to reveal that I had overheard him earlier, nor did I want to upset him. “The numbers are easy aren’t they?” I finally voiced after a moment “easier than people anyway. Answers to questions and a solid foundation. Easy to hide in.”

“Yeah” Charlie breathed in response and looked up at me “but we can’t hide in the numbers forever can we?”

“Nope” I muttered, popping the p. We were silent for a moment with the exception of Charlie’s mouse clicking.

Then Larry, Charlie’s friend and fellow CalSci professor, entered the garage. “Well,” he voiced upon his arrival, “I was heartened to hear that you’ve shifted your focus off P vs. NP.” he meandered further into the garage “So tell me what is it that I can help you with?”

“I failed” Charlie admitted and I snapped my attention back to him. “I failed to notice something significant. These robberies display certain highly eccentric characteristics.”

“Okay” Larry murmured, taking a seat on my other side a top some stuff “well how so?”

“Many were conducted in under two minutes, but in many cases,” Charlie explained “the perpetrators remained on the premises far longer despite having the money. Why would they wait around?”

“Don’t know.” the cosmologist replied “leaving quickly would seem to be the essential strategy when fleeing a felony.”

“Or any kind of crime” I added. “It’s risky cops could show up”

“You see this game, Larry? Abby?” Charlie pivoted his computer screen to show he had been playing Minesweeper. “You have to clear mines without blowing any up. Each time you’ve cleared a square, a numerical value is revealed. That number tells you exactly how many squares containing mines are directly adjacent to the square. This allows you to predict where the next mine will be located. And then the more boxes revealed, the more accurately one can predict the location of the mines.” he finished explaining the game and then continued with its relevance “the pattern used in these bank robberies is similar to this same type of problem-solving pattern. These robbers have used the banks they’ve been robbing to tell them which ones to rob next.”

“To what end would criminals be playing Minesweeper with banks?” Larry posed the same question rattling in my brain.

“I don’t know,” Charlie admitted.

“Are they using it to find high cash sums.” I suggested.

“No the takes varied, some as low as one hundred dollars.” Charlie objected thinking.

“Well then you’ll have to gather more information on your robbers” I pointed out “see what they’re after.”

“Information” Charlie murmured then quickly stood up closing his laptop with a snap. “I have to go.” with that he had dashed from the barn.

“It seems you’ve inspired him young Abigail,” Larry sighed.

“Don’t call me Abigail please” I asked the professor “and I don’t know what I did to inspire him”

Larry made a humming noise as I got up from my seat on the floor. “Well does it matter how in the grand scheme of things really?” he asked philosophically. “Whether you meant to inspire him or not it is still the outcome” I nodded lightly in agreement. “So if not Abigail what would you prefer to be called?”

“Abby” I stated thinking it was rather obvious considering everyone else just called me Abby.

Larry let out another humming noise. “You know you are quite a unique being”

“Thanks” I murmured not sure where he was going with this.

“You have a mind such as your uncles but your traits portray your father in quite a respect for you only having known both for a month. A true statement of nature versus nurture” Larry observed “you are an enigma”

“Okay” I sighed “then call me the enigma”

Larry nodded and stood up “very well then” and with that he left the garage. I hoped he realized I wasn’t being serious.  
_______________  
“Here you go, Pop.” Charlie called walking out of the kitchen with a bowl in his hands. “I got it.” he sat it down “now you got it.”

“Thank you,” Alan replied.

“Spoon” Charlie stated holding up the utensil.

I scoffed “I think he knows what a spoon is Uncle C”

My uncle gave me a look and messed up my hair with a small shove like gesture as he went to sit down next to me. He didn’t sit however as just then the main door opened. “Hello” my father called.

“Donnie!” Alan greeted getting to his feet. “Wow, it’s good to see you.”

“Oh, you guys ate. I’m starving” Don voiced coming into the dining room.

“Ah there’s plenty come on” Alan objected quickly.

“Yeah?” the agent clarified “did Terry call, tell you guys what happened?”

“Yeah, she said you arrested every suspect.” Charlie informed shuffling back toward the kitchen. “Only one shot fired, huh?”

“That’s impressive.” I mused “snipers are cool.” Don gave me a look as he made his way to the seat at the head of the table “sniper math is cool” I emphasized pointedly.

“One? How’d you pull that off?” Alan inquired.

“We knew roughly where’d they’d try to hit the next shipment,” Don explained as Charlie disappeared to get him some food. While I turned back to consuming mine. “And I knew they’d have an escape plan.”

“That’s very clever.” Gramps declared digging into his dinner.

“Out thinking the bad guys” I voiced “that’s got to be fun”

“Keep talking like that and someone might think you want to join the FBI” Don muttered giving me a look.

I shrugged and held up my hands in a defensive gesture “hey I don’t even know what I’m doing once I escape high school” I explained “don’t go pegging me to early”

“And I don’t think I can take two members of the family dodging bullets for a career” Alan voiced.

“Yeah well, I guess I was inspired by Mr. Heisenberg” Don continued as he went to grab a beer in the kitchen. “Just like Charlie here suggested”

“Heisenberg?” Alan gave Charlie a perplexed look. “You mean, the physicist?”

“Yeah” Don called in reply.

I chuckled lightly as Charlie took the seat next to me “Don goes to confront a bunch of crazy and armed bank robbers and your pep talk is about the movement of subatomic particles?”

“Yep” Charlie replied simply. Me and Alan exchanged an amused look. “It worked, didn’t it?”

“Yes” Alan replied. “I guess it did.” There was a moment as Don joined us at the table and we all turned to our food but Alan “I’m telling you,” he began “if your mother could see you two guys now, she would be… so happy” he voiced and turned to me “and Abby. She would have loved to have known you”

I smiled lightly as the brothers exchanged a look themselves. “How are you doing on your P vs. P thing?” Don inquired after a moment.

“NP?” Charlie corrected with an amused breath.

“Sorry” Don murmured.

“I’m not pursuing it anymore.” the mathematician declared.

“No?” the agent questioned.

“I got plenty of problems to work on,” Charlie explained “ones that I think I can actually solve.”

Don nodded “Glad to hear it.” The two clinked their glasses and Alan raised his. I grabbed my glass of water as well and we all knocked glasses in the center taking a sip. As normal table conversation resumed. I found myself smiling. I was among family.


	3. Balance

I trudged into my grandfather's house and ungracefully collapsed on the sofa. Charlie who was doing work on the coffee table looked over at me with an amused expression. “Hello” 

“Hello” I murmured, my arm draped over my face. 

“School that bad huh?” Charlie asked. 

“High school sucks when you’re a genius” I declared exasperatedly thinking back to the extensive argument I had with my english teacher over the wording of a phrase. 

“High school sucks for almost everybody” Charlie sighed continuing to work. 

Moment later I heard my grandfather enter the room so I sat up. “Hey” he greeted us both with a nod but gave me a confused look “I didn’t think you were coming here today. Not that I’m not glad to see you” he quickly added the last bit.

I shrugged and gave a small smile “got a text from Don while I was in class telling me to come here today and he cleared it with the school so I could get on the bus. Here I am” 

“Guess that means he’ll be working late” Alan muttered then looked to Charlie again who was shifting papers trying to cover some of his work “no classes today?” he inquired of the mathematician. 

“Nah” Charlie objected. 

“You working on something for Don?” Alan asked, eyeing his son's work. 

“It’s a um.. It’s a genetics project” Charlie answered “for a… for a friend in the bio department actually.” 

“A he or a she?” Alan asked as he adjusted the jacket he’d just put on. 

“Huh?” Uncle C looked to his father in confusion. 

“Your friend. Male or female?” Alan clarified and I rolled my eyes. 

“Does it matter?” Charlie scoffed with mild annoyance. 

“No, of course not I was just curious.” Alan murmured “I just thought maybe, you know…” Alan trailed, finishing his thought with a pointed look rather than words. 

“Well, listen. Dad, whenever I have a girlfriend, I will let you know by, um” Charlie paused a moment ”by putting a note on the refrigerator” I scoffed as Charlie chuckled.

“Good. Well, that’s nice.” Alan muttered then glanced up at me “what about you, any social progress?” 

I rolled my eyes laying back down on the couch “I don’t have any friends let alone romantic entanglements” 

“Touche” Alan scoffed “though you should try and work on that” 

“I hear that a lot” I grumbled. 

Alan hummed in reply as he headed for the door. “Uh, where you going right now?” Charlie asked. 

“My book club” Alan replied easily. 

“Mm-hmm and where’s that?” Charlie asked. I rolled my head to look over at my uncle, curious as to why he was so curious. 

“Phil’s house.” Gramps explained “Raymond Avenue. You keeping track of me?” 

“No” Charlie chuckled “I’m just curious” 

“Oh” Alan muttered and gave me a look I just shrugged. 

Charlie reopened his laptop as Alan left. Though I notice him shifting his things slightly to block my view. I sat up slowly “genetics project right? About what?” I reached out to turn the laptop around. 

“No!” the man quickly snapped smacking my hand lightly with his pencil to ward me off as he closed the device quickly. “Just don’t look at that,” he said quickly. 

“Why not?” I questioned. 

“It’s uh… it’s my friends research” he spoke frantically as he gathered up his things “and- and they don’t want anyone else really looking at it alright so I’ll just- I’ll just go work somewhere else” He’d gathered up all his things in a frantic cluster and scurried from the room. 

“Okay then” I muttered looking after him. He was hiding something, that was obvious. However, I didn’t care that much to snoop around right now. So I laid back down on the couch for a well deserved after school nap.  
____________  
“So what? Traffic downtown’s always terrible.” Gramps defended as Don and Charlie attempted to deter him from going to volunteer. 

“Well it’s worse than usual” Don explained, “There's a Sig Alert because of an accident on the 2, and you’ll blow your whole day in the car.” 

“Well it’s not like I’ll be alone. I'll have Abby with me to chat” Alan said looking back at me from where I was reading on the floor. 

“What?” I asked, perplexed. 

“You’re coming to help me. We talked about it yesterday” Alan explained then sighed as I continued to give him a blank look “you know you may remember everything you read but speaking to you it’s in one ear and out the other” I just shrugged in response, taking a bite of my apple snack and looking back to the book I was reading. 

“And also downtown there’s that, uh…? Charlie looked to his brother for help and they began to talk over each other. 

“Yeah, there’s that protest march” Don explained. 

“Over on uh…” Charlie again teetered off as Don spoke more. 

“It’s a big deal they’re expecting thousands of people” 

“It’s a big deal” Charlie reiterated “meanwhile you could be doing something fun. Hey, hey like I don’t know you could go bowling” everyone in the room turned to the youngest Eppes man in mild confusion. 

“Bowling?” Alan questioned then sighed “Abby come on” he gestured and I rose from my place sitting reluctantly. 

“Or golf” Don spoke quickly “you keep saying you’re going to play golf.” I slid past the brothers “it’s a beautiful day for a round or two” 

“It’s been two years since I retired,” Gramps told them “and almost a year since your mother died. Now I’m finding there are certain things I would like to do with my life. And one of them is to volunteer where people need me and another to spend time with my lovely granddaughter” he rested a hand on my shoulder “I’ve made, and though she might not remember it, Abby made a commitment to be someplace today and if that means sitting in my car, fine. But I’m certainly not going to skip out to go golfing or bowling” Alan started to lead me toward the door. 

“What if we told you…” Charlie began

“Charlie” Don interrupted his brother with a warning tone repeating his name multiple times as he continued to speak.

“There’s a really good reason you shouldn’t.” Charlie finished. 

Don shot him a glare but his eyes flashed to meet mine before softening as he looked back to his brother. 

“Well clearly there’s something you’re not telling us” Alan inferred. 

“Does it have to do with the math Uncle C tried to hide from me?” I asked softly and the brother’s exchanged a look. Charlie’s looking rather apologetic. 

“That you can’t tell us,” Gramps clarified. “But you don’t want us to go downtown?” 

“Yeah” Don finally voiced “I think it’s a good idea not to go downtown. Okay? Can we leave it at that?” 

Alan paused for a moment and I looked at each of the men “well I’ll take your concerns under consideration.” With that he turned and headed toward the kitchen. 

There was a beat of silence and I let off a breath “you know I really hate secrets” I muttered, shooting a look at Don who opened his mouth to respond but before he could I had turned to leave the room I heard him sigh in defeat as I walked away.  
_________  


**3rd POV.**

Don sighed as Abby stormed off abandoning whatever feeble excuse he was about to make. “Wish we could tell dad and Abby not to leave the house for a couple weeks.” Charlie voiced. 

“Right. Well, good luck with that.” Don muttered in annoyance “I may be new at this parenting thing but even I can guess that quarantining a sixteen year old girl isn’t going to work.” 

“I’ve gone months without leaving the house in the past” Charlie explained “and it’s not like Abby has friends to visit” 

Don scoffed “yeah guess her being antisocial does help with this” Don let off a breath trying to quell the balloon of anxiety that was his parental instincts before they exploded. Charlie shrugged slightly and Don found even the gesture annoying right now with his younger brother “bowling” he muttered turning to leave. 

“Yeah bowling” Charlie called after him agitation also apparent in his voice. 

Don headed into the house after his daughter, he found her in his old room with her nose in a book. “Listen,” he began “I don’t want you going to the shelter with your grandfather alright and that’s the end of it” 

“No it’s not” Abby objected, snapping her book closed and sitting up “if I want to go help people I can. Especially since Gramps already said I could and so did you before you started acting all weird and keeping stuff from me.” 

“Abby it’s not my choice to keep things from you” Don explained carefully “but with my line of work there are certain things that I can’t talk about. Now I’m your father you have to do what I say and I say you’re not going to that shelter.” 

“Bullshit” Abby spat angrily, getting to her feet. “You can’t expect me to just listen to you without an explanation. I’m not some mindless drone” 

Don took a deep breath trying to keep his anger down “I know what’s best for you Abby so just shut up and listen to me alright? You’re not going and that is final” 

“Yeah right” Abby practically snarled “and I suppose you’re going to be around to stop me? You’ll just be at work while I’m dumped here and you know it. Father my ass you’re barely a supervisor” with that she shoved past him and out of the room. 

Don didn’t bother to stop her or go after her this time. They both needed time to cool down. He let off an aggravated growl and plopped onto the bed. She had a point he had been working a lot lately. Still, he knew going downtown was a bad idea. The last thing he wanted was for her to get sick. His stomach churned at the idea of her ending up like the victims he had seen in the hospital. Why couldn’t she just listen to him? He let off a breath as his phone beep. He was needed back at the office. So he rose and headed out he didn’t see Abby as he left but he knew they’d need to talk later.  
______________  
**Abby POV.**

“Have a good day” Alan murmured as he poured soup into a woman’s bowl. 

“Thank you” she nodded and shuffled down the line where I handed her a pb&j with a gloved hand. 

There was a bout of loud laughter and three kids of varying ages came darting past the table. A woman followed behind yelling at them to slow down and watch where they were going. 

“I feel sorry for her” Alan voiced with a sigh “having to raise her kids in a place like this” 

Abby shrugged “it’s not a horrible place. I’ve been in worse ones” 

Alan gave her a side look “you were in a homeless shelter?” 

Abby shrugged “sometimes when the weather was bad or we were having car trouble me and my mom would stay the night in one. Came for meals quite a bit when I was younger less the older I got but I had a lot of soup and pb&j growing up. Or mcdonalds dollar menu” 

Alan hummed and was quiet for a minute “you know your mother..” he paused seeming to collect his thoughts “and- and your father they might not always have seemed or seem like the best parents but I’m sure that Janice did the best she could for you and Don will as well” 

“I know” I replied with a slight smile at his concern “my mom just didn’t have the life skills needed to make it in the world when I was born. We managed just fine even if it wasn’t perfect. She was actually taking online classes to try and get a degree before she died” I paused thinking back on the memories. 

“Really? Well I bet with a kid like you your mother must have been a very bright woman” Alan decreed. They were quiet for a moment before Alan sighed “maybe you should have listened to your father and stayed I mean he is your father you need to listen to him” 

I sighed leaning on the table “with me and my mom it was always more of a negotiation. I was smart enough to take care of myself most of the time and she was always distracted by something. I got used to not listening. No one who gave me orders ever really had my best interest at heart before” 

“Well I can promise you that Donnie does” Gramps explained “both of you are still learning. Him how to guide a human being and you how to be guided. It’s a tricky process but I think once you both figure it out you’ll be better for it.” 

I smiled lightly “thanks Grandpa I’ll keep that in mind.” Alan nodded and turned to the next person in line. As I dwelled in my thoughts a bit.  
_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~  
**_3rd POV._**

_Abby poked at a bug with a pencil. As the creature scurried along the floor of their motel room. The door opened and the girl looked up to see her mother stumbling in. The woman let off a breath and clasped on one of the beds._

__

__

_Abby got to her feet and hurried over jumping up on the bed. “Mommy! Mommy!” The four year old exclaimed._

__

__

_“Hey kid” Janice greeted her daughter with a tired smile. “How was your day?”_

__

__

_“That man came back again” Abby informed. “He knocked on the door really loud this time”_

__

__

_“Did he come in?” Janice inquired. Abby shook her head ‘no’ in response. “Good” Janice sighed and laid there for a moment in thought. “Here I got you some food” she sat up and turned to face her daughter._

__

__

_She pulled out a burger and small fry from the dollar menu of McDonalds. Abby smiled and began eating hungrily however she stopped when she saw her mother wasn’t eating. “What about you?”_

__

_Janice smiled at her daughter. “It’s alright Abbs” she reassured “I ate before I got here”_

__

__

_Abby wasn’t as convinced “here” she extended her mother a couple of her fries._

__

__

_“No Abby, they're yours” Janice objected._

__

__

_“I want you to have some” the four year old replied stubbornly._

__

__

_Janice sighed and took the fries, kissing her daughter on the forehead “You’re a stubborn kid, you know that?”_

__

__

_Abby giggled at that and continued to eat her small dinner. The girl had just finished and Janice was brushing her hair in the bathroom when the door slammed open._

__

__

_Abby jumped and rolled off the bed. Janice hurried out of the bathroom terrified. “That is it! You haven’t made your payments in a month! You are out of here!” The manager yelled._

__

__

_Janice begged and pleaded Abby just stood there and watched. Before she realized what happened she was standing outside with her backpack. Her mother was carrying a duffel._

__

__

_“Alright come on” Janice sighed as she took Abby’s hand and led her over to the car “we’re just going to have to find somewhere else.”_

__

__

_Finding somewhere else took less time than Abby expected. It had started to rain and it was getting cold. Janice pulled over and parked the car. She took Abby’s hand and locked their stuff in the vehicle leading her daughter quickly down the street and into a building._

__

__

_They were walking in among a small amount of people but there were more inside. Most had an odd assortment of clothes and layers. A lot looked old and a good portion were missing teeth._

__

__

_Janice talked to some people who were better dressed and didn’t smell as funky. Abby just clung to her mother’s leg and observed everything. Eventually they made it over to a small cot._

__

__

_Janice laid down and took off her jacket. Abby laid down next to her and Janice tucked her in. Abbs snuggled up close to her mother who began to sing softly to her. Until she finally fell asleep._  
_~_~_~_~_~_~_~  


**Abby POV.**

“Best peanut butter sandwich has bananas on it” I decreed as me and Gramps walked through the door of the house. 

“Now that is normal” Alan sighed. 

“Yeah so is popcorn” I pointed out. 

“Not-” 

“Hey” Charlie cut Alan off with his greeting as he came walking into the room “where’ve you been?” 

“Uh bowling” Alan replied sarcastically giving me a look. 

“Really?” Charlie questioned with mild surprise. 

“No, of course not.” Gramps objected with a chuckle “we were downtown at the shelter” Alan picked up the mail to go through it as Charlie’s face fell slightly. I meandered over to the living room to take a seat. 

“Dad..” Charlie started. 

“Well, no one else seems worried about being there,” Alan explained. 

“Plus it was a good day” I commented looking over the back of the chair. 

“That’s because they didn’t know” Charlie voiced. 

“Didn’t know what you wouldn’t tell me?” Alan pointed out to his son. 

“He’s got you there” I decreed and my uncle gave me an exasperated look “what? You didn’t honestly think I’d take your side. Secrets suck” 

“Look,” Gramps continued drawing back Charlie’s disappointed stare “if everybody can be down there, why can’t me and Abby? I got this fuzzy feeling you and your brother have been going downtown too. Huh, am I right?” 

“Okay.” Charlie conceded following his father around the house. “But we were- we were worried about you two” the young man tried to explain. “Do you understand?” 

“Look, Charlie, your brother puts himself on the line every day on that job of his.” Gramps spoke as they came toward where I was sitting “don’t you think I’m worried about him? Huh? But I know how vital that job is to him.” Alan sat down in the seat across from me. Continuing to talk to his son “you’ve been helping him out quite a bit lately haven’t you?” 

Charlie nodded with a strained smile. “You know I could help too if he’d let me,” I muttered. 

“We’ve talked about this Abby” Gramps told me with a look before turning to his son again “you know what I’m really proud of? I’m proud that I’ve raised two sons. Well, we’ve raised two sons who have a great sense of public service. And a granddaughter who’s joined us with, however misguided, a want to serve as well.” Charlie and I both smiled at the sentiment before Grandpa descended into a fit of coughs.

“You okay?” Charlie asked worry drenching his voice. 

“Huh? Yeah sure it’s just a cough” Alan waved it away putting on his glasses to read. 

“Be careful it’s, uh.. It’s flu season” Charlie advised. 

“Yeah, well, don’t worry about me. I never get the flu” Gramps objected. 

“I’ve never gotten it either” I voiced thinking back “had strep once that sucked, never the flu” Alan hummed in acknowledgement as Charlie shifted uncomfortably. “You good Uncle C?” I asked. 

“Yeah, yeah” Charlie nodded, straightening slightly “I just got, uh, some, uh work to get back to” he murmured before leaving the room. 

“He’s acting weirder than normal” I voiced. 

“Ah it’ll blow over” Alan assured. 

“I bet Don’s going to be pissed that I went to the shelter today,” I advised. 

“Don’t worry about it” Alan told me “go get a book. I’ll take the heat on this one” 

“Thanks gramps” I smiled at him slightly before rising from my seat and heading upstairs.  
_________  
**3rd POV.**

“Hey you good?” Terry asked, tapping her partner on the shoulder as he sat staring at the board. 

“Yeah” Don muttered “just worried Abby and my dad went and volunteered downtown at some shelter and you know I just keep thinking..” he sighed “that first victim was a sixteen year old kid.” 

“And now you have your own sixteen year old kid” Terry finished the man’s obvious thought. Don nodded “did you tell her not to go” 

“Best I could with the reason being classified” the man explained “she just got mad I wasn’t giving her a reason, threw the fact that I work all the time in my face and stormed off” 

“Well she is still a teenager. They’re like that sometimes” Terry explained with some levity in her features 

“This was different though” Don explained “I mean I can gather enough to realize Abby hasn’t had a lot of great authority figures in her past I mean she didn’t even think we’d be worried when she disappeared on her birthday. Still..” Don trailed biting his lip slightly. 

“You’re trying Don” Terry reassured “you’re still figuring out how to be a dad and she’s still figuring out how to be a daughter. It’s not something that’s just going to click overnight even father’s who raised their daughters have issues. But if anyone’s stubborn enough and strong enough to get through these issues it’s you and her.” 

“Yeah” Don sighed “I’m just not used to feeling like this. I mean every moment of peace I have there’s this buzzing in the back of my head now of whether Abby’s alright or not. Been trying to keep myself from texting her or calling her, not that she’s in a great mood with me enough to answer” 

“That’s okay Don” Terry advised him “well maybe not text and call her every five minutes but it’s okay to be worried. She’s your daughter your natural instincts are to protect her” 

“Maybe” Don muttered “but how do I protect her from something I can’t even fight” 

Terry gave him a sad look but held no answers when David suddenly popped his head into the room “they pulled some footage from the bus terminal that we’ve got to see” he told them urgently and the pair quickly got up to follow him. Don pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind.  
_________  
**Abby POV.**

“So how are you two guys doing?” Gramps asked as Don came out onto the back patio where we were eating. “Well, you seem so much more relaxed than the last couple of days” 

“Probably closed the stupid case they couldn’t talk about” I muttered taking a bit of my chili. I could see Don giving me a look out of the corner of my eye. 

“Yeah, I’d say, uh, we’re doing pretty okay now.” my father sighed sitting down next to his brother. “And we did finish our project” he gave me a nod. He paused, eyeing the beer in his hand “think I might get my first good night’s sleep in about a week.” 

“I’m glad it’s over” Charlie sighed. 

“You know, I thought I’d let you know that I’m gonna be working down at the shelter next week” Alan explained and turned to me “and if you would like to join me again you can. Though this time you might want to write it down so you’ll remember” 

“Very funny” I muttered “and yes I’d like to.” I paused “if that’s okay with you Don” I felt weird asking permission but I knew it was a good idea. 

“Yeah, I think it’s okay now.” Don agreed. Seeming just as hesitant to give a reply to the question. 

Alan looked between us and sighed “you know one of the hardest parts about being a parent?” he looked between us all “finding balance” he declared. I looked over at Don and gave him a light smile and he returned it. “Well I’ll see you three later. I’m gonna be going with Art Stanley” 

“Uh-oh. What are you two up to?” Charlie asked. 

“Bowling” Alan declared. Charlie grinned as me and Don began to chuckle. “After the fuss you made, I thought I’d give it a try” 

“Don’t throw out your back” I muttered.

“Ha ha very funny” Alan murmured. “And don’t you still have homework in the living room?” I groaned in annoyance “uh-huh come on” Alan gestured for me to follow him into the house. 

I let off a breath and rose from my seat bowl in hand. “I hate homework” 

“Necessary evil kid” Don advised “now go get it done and then maybe we can do something fun tomorrow” 

“Fun?” I asked intrigued.

“Yeah you know the two of us” Don clarified “since I’ve been working a lot lately I thought maybe it’d help with the balance you know?” 

I smiled “yeah okay”

“You know what you two should do?” Charlie voiced with a smirk. 

“If you say bowling I’m going to deck you” Don muttered, taking a swig of his drink as I headed into the house laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Re-watching this episode to write this chapter held a whole new meaning with everything going on in the world right now. Hope everyone is staying safe and doing the best they can in quarantine!


	4. Talk

“In twenty years of teaching. I’ve never received evaluation comments like these.” Larry complained as we followed my uncle on an afternoon hike. “Boring. Me? Intellectually inaccessible.” 

“I thought we came up on this hike to get your mind off of this ridiculous thing.” Charlie pointed out. 

“I mean, one student even said I’m out of touch with cutting-edge thinking in multidimensional theory. That one alone kept me up at night” Larry explained as we scaled a small incline. 

“The first two seem plausible but the third” I shrugged “don’t let it get under your skin” 

“Thank you young enigma for the jaded advice” Larry murmured. 

“Anytime” I replied with a smirk. 

“Everybody gets bad evaluations now and then. Come on!” Uncle C hurried us along. 

“Yeah, yeah says the professor who never received anything less than a rave” Larry replied sarcastically. 

I chuckled “rave? Really?” 

“Indeed student body favorite practically” Larry informed me. 

“As with any large group, there are responses that cover the entire spectrum. I once had a girl in my combinatorics seminar tell me that I was disorganized and I talked too fast.” Charlie explained as Larry leaned on a branch to catch his breath and I took a sip of my water bottle, wondering how I managed to get dragged out here with these two. 

“Well, that’s an accurate observation actually.” Larry admitted. Charlie gave a mildly bewildered look directed at me and I nodded my agreement “but, generally speaking, I mean, your students love you, whereas mine say my classes put them to sleep.” 

“You’re an exceptional professor.” Charlie ressured his friend. “I should know I took classes from you.” 

“Yeah but you were an exceptional young mind” Larry pointed out as a couple other hikers passed us “perhaps I’ve lost my ability to reach the more typical student” 

“Hey Professor Fleinhardt” one of the passing boys nodded to Larry. 

“Hey” the physicist greeted happily “How’s it… how’s it… how you… how…” Each attempt made to continue conversation failed on the man’s part as the boys continued to walk either not registering or ignoring the professor's attempts. “See we’re not even in class,and still my students run away from me.” 

“Hiking away technically” I corrected casually. 

There was then the sound of a police siren in the distance “I don’t think that’s it” Charlie muttered from his higher vantage. He began to hurry off in the direction the students had gone. Me and Larry followed. “Right down this way. Hurry!” 

What greeted us was a full scale crime scene. With a coroner's truck, police officers, and others gathered masses of observation. As we got around the corner of a police car I felt my feet freeze to the ground. There was a body laying a couple yards away below the bridge overhead. 

I felt the ghost of rain drops on my skin and felt the family spiking headache rocket through my brain. They were in a red hoodie. It was a boy. But each time I blinked as I began to do so furiously I was switching between this reality and the one of the girl with bright red hair. The rain was picking up the headache was pulsing I couldn’t breathe anymore. 

“Abby” I snapped my head around as a hand laid on my shoulder. Charlie was looking at me with concern evident in his features. “Are you alright?” 

I bounced my eyes around the scene. It wasn’t raining, it wasn’t at night, and we weren’t out on that street. I took a couple calming breaths before finally replying “yeah yeah fine” I muttered. 

“You sure?” Charlie asked again. 

“Fine” I reiterated. I caught Larry eyeing me worriedly as well. “Guys seriously I just- I didn’t expect that” I gestured vaguely in the direction of the body I did not need, or want, to look at again.

“Me neither” Charlie murmured in agreement, taking his hand off my shoulder and his features turning to one of contemplation as he looked at the bridge.

“Very well, you were just exhibiting the common signs of what one might call a panic attack” Larry voiced. 

“I’m fine really just rattled” I tried to sound convincing. From the look on Larry’s face he wasn’t convinced but he dropped the issue and for that I was glad.  
_________________  
**3rd POV.**

Don sighed as he got out of his car and headed into the FBI building. His phone beeped as he made his way through the lobby and he looked to see it was Abby. “hey kid what’s up?” he answered trying to sound like he had some energy. 

“Am I going to the apartment or Grandpa’s house after school today?” she asked, sounding about as tired as he felt. 

Don thought about it for a minute “go on to your Grandpa’s alright I’ll call the school clear it up”

“So you are looking into the guy who jumped off the bridge?” Abby asked as Don clicked the elevator button. 

“Just a little for Charlie’s sake” Don muttered then a thought occurred to him. “Wait how do you know about this? Charlie talk to you?” 

“Uh… I was there when Larry and Charlie came upon the scene” Abby admitted. 

Don let off a breath. “You alright? I mean that can be some scary stuff.” he couldn’t help thinking about his first jumper case.

“Yeah I’m fine I just wish people would stop asking” Abby grumbled snappily that did not reassure Don at all of her being fine. 

“Abby it’s okay if some of this got to you” Don reassured as the elevator opened and he got on. 

He heard her sigh on the other line “I know it’s just… it’s not what people think it’s about and it’s hard to talk about” Don was confused at the answer but before he could probe more she was continuing “I have to get to class now. See you later” 

“Yeah okay, bye” Don muttered before she hung up. He let off a breath pocketing his phone. He was going to have to deal with that later, or maybe it would be better to let her work through it on her own? He was still contemplating these thoughts when the elevator opened and he was walking out. “Dad? What are you doing here?” he questioned seeing the man. 

“I called you; you hadn’t called me back” Alan explained. 

“Well, I would’ve eventually” Don assured “is everything okay?” 

“Yeah, yeah, sure.” Alan muttered in reply “I need you to come to dinner at the house on wednesday. Um, I have a date” 

“Oh yeah? A date” Don tried to sound encouraging. “Hey, well, that’s good. With who?” 

“Oh, someone Art knows from yoga” Alan explained. “Yeah, her name’s Jill. he says she’s smart, she’s funny, and, uh, quite flexible” Alan spoke the last compliment to the woman with a hinting look and slight chuckle “So I.. we’re having dinner at the house and I would like you to be there.” 

“Wow, hey, no.” Don began to quickly try and work his way out of the perceivably awkward dinner. “Just take her somewhere low-key. You’ll be fine” he suggested leading his dad back to the elevator. 

“Look, it’s my first date in over 35 years.” Alan grumbled “I would like ‘memorable’ instead of ‘low-key’” 

“‘Low-key’ and ‘memorable’ aren’t mutually exclusive.” Don objected “you know what my favorite date ever was? Pepperoni pizza in a laundromat.” 

“Yes, which explains the conspicuous absence of grandchildren.” Alan muttered then thought “well I guess planned grandchildren.” Don sighed and gave his father a look “So, Wednesday, 7:30. Bring a date?” 

Don shook his head “I can’t. Dad, I’m busy, and I don’t anticipate meeting anyone between now and then either. By the way your unplanned grandchild is heading to your house after school in” he glanced at his watch “40ish minutes so you should get going.” 

“Of course she is” Alan sighed “No, but anyway I just want to make it a couples thing, you know? Look like, seeming like…” 

“Well I don’t think-” Don cut off as the elevator opened with a ding revealing Terry standing there. 

“Hi” she greeted Don “hey Mr. Eppes” she also greeted Alan with a mild curiosity to his presence evident on her face. Her and Alan switched spots as she exited the elevator and he entered. “Good to see you” 

“You too” Alan agreed as she walked away then he turned to his son “you’ll think of something” he made a suggestive nod after Don’s partner. The FBI agent sighed as the doors slid shut and he walked away.  
________________  
**Abby POV.**

I headed into my grandfather’s house triedly. I hadn’t slept last night after seeing that boy the other day. Images of him and another memory from months ago swapping places and intermingling in my mind. It was like my brain was caught in a cyclone. 

“Abby? You here?” Gramps called from his chair as I came in the door. 

“Yeah” I called back. 

He looked over at me, glasses perched on his nose. “You alright you look beat” 

“Just tired” I admitted taking a seat next to him. Tossing my bag on the floor. 

“Rough day at school?” he quizzed. 

I shook my head “trouble sleeping. Charlie didn’t tell you? A CalSci student commited suicide yesterday. Larry, Uncle C, and I stumbled upon the crime scene while going for a hike” I explained. 

“Oh my word” Alan sighed “that’s horrible I mean I saw the news. That poor boy’s parents but you seeing that. I’m sorry” 

I shook my head “no I’m fine it’s not-” I swallowed my words. 

“Not what?” Alan prompted my abrupt stop. “Abby, listen if this is making it hard for you to sleep I don’t think it’s nothing. If you try talking about it maybe it’ll help” 

“It’s just- it’s hard to explain sometimes.” I voiced carefully. 

Alan put down the paper he was reading and removed his glasses shifting in his seat to face me. “It can’t hurt to try and explain it Abby” 

I bit my lip but let off a sigh collecting my thoughts for a moment “because of my AEM, my memory thing, I- I get these- these attacks. It’s my memory but it’s things I don’t want to remember don’t choose to remember. And- and these intrusive memories they just- sometimes in the moment I can’t keep them straight from reality it’s it’s-”

“It's scary” Alan finished my sentence reaching out to give my hand a squeeze. I nodded “and these attacks they’re like panic attacks? Triggered by something?” 

“Yeah they’re a lot like that” I replied feeling oddly better now that someone knew about it. “My blinders and music help calm me down” I told him, finding it easier to continue now that I’d started. Alan nodded taking in the information easily. 

“So seeing that scene, this boy, it caused one of these attacks?” he deduced. I nodded “your mother?” 

“No” I objected quickly opening my mouth to say more but feeling it cut off by visions of red hair and pools of water on the ground under street lights. I swallowed.

“It’s okay if you can’t talk about it yet” Alan reassured me and I looked up at him again “just know when you do I’m here for you so is Charlie and your father. Now you might get tired of me saying this but uh.. Abby you’re not alone and- and if these intrusive memories are a struggle for you you should tell Don about them” 

“I know” I smiled lightly “It’s just-” 

“Hard” Alan finished my thought again “some of the most important parts of life are” 

I sighed knowing he was right “thanks for listening” 

“Of course” he nodded and picked his glasses and paper, back up again. “Oh, uh by the way. You’re going to be hanging out with your Uncle Charlie wednesday night or otherwise at Don’s” 

“Why?” I asked in confusion. 

“I have a, uh, a date and I’ve asked your father to be there hopefully with his own date.” Alan explained awkwardly. 

I scoffed “Don on a date?” 

“Yes, that’s not a problem for you is it?” the man asked.

“No” I objected but the slight curling in my stomach was telling me internally the opposite. “I’m going to go work on my homework upstairs,” I told Alan, grabbing my bag. 

“Alright” Alan nodded, perching his glasses back on his nose. I sighed getting to my feet and heading from the room.  
____________________  
“Let’s see how it does in high winds.” Charlie stated, beginning to type the information into the computer. 

Larry made a humming noise and looked over at me “and what are you reading over there?” 

“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” I replied. 

“Fascinating” Larry nodded “I have to say I wouldn’t have pegged you as one who read young adult fiction despite your age. I was informed you read quite a leap beyond your level” 

“I do” I answered easily “doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a good story and relatable characters”

“Fair enough” Larry agreed then made another humming noise of thought “you know young adult literature much like it’s intended audience tends to be underestimated in the long run by people. Such as the young man whose work we are interpreting was ignored by his elders in his warnings” 

I scoffed turning the page of my book “preaching to choir here” 

“School still won’t let you in advanced classes?” Charlie asked. 

“No” I mumbled “I mean they do realize it’s not my fault I missed so much school” 

“Yes well if you ask me the greatest failing for one who wants to be an educator is to grow up and forget what it means to be young” Larry mused.

“How profound” Charlie muttered sarcastically “now can we focus now please?” 

“Why of course” Larry agreed, shooting me a look before I turned back to my story.  
__________________  
“Hey Chuck what’d you find?” Don asked, coming into the office alongside Terry. 

“The problem is wind” Charlie explained, shuffling over to where Larry sat and I stood behind the computer. 

“Wouldn’t they have already tested for stability in winds?” Don questioned, dubious. 

“Engineers test structural response to gusts along two axis north to south and east to west.” Larry informed 

“And, in those cases, a single side supported by two corners bears the brunt of the wind load” Charlie carried on the explanation. 

“Think of a straight-on wind as two cars colliding” Charlie posed the analogy “in contrast-- excuse me--” he shuffled Larry out of his seat to take control of the computer “quartering winds hit a building at an angle, exerting pressure on two sides anchored by a single corner.” 

“It’s like one target, two bracings going to two targets one bracing” I voiced with a shrug. The non-mathematically inclined people still looked mildly confused. 

“Imagine a car getting hit from the back and the side simultaneously.” Charlie continued with the car analogy. 

“Can those winds cause structural issues?” Terry inquired. 

“Our tests showed that the Cole Center is sound for head-on winds of up to 90 miles an hour” Charlie showed them the simulation “but here’s what happens with quartering winds as low as 60 miles per hour” he plugged it into the simulation and began to narrate what we were showing them “first the steel frame bends beyond its limits and stays bent. Then this strained steel hardens and becomes brittle. Under continuing stress this steel will fracture, causing complete structural collapse.” the computer beeps rapidly as the simulation reached its third stage “Finn Montgomery found the problem in the building’s deflection. He suspected the effects would be serious.” Charlie stated as the digital building collapsed “he was right and he may have paid with his life” 

“Alright we’ll bring it up to Cole get people out of the building to start then start looking to see who’s responsible” Don assured. 

“Thanks Don” Charlie nodded. 

“Yeah well we still gotta see what Cole says, alright” Don told his brother. 

“Sounds like an early day tomorrow” Terry voiced “I better get home then” 

“Yeah, thanks for coming tonight” He told her. Shuffling away from those of us still testing the math on the simulation by the computer. 

“You’re welcome and it was for the most part enjoyable” Terry told him. “See you tomorrow. Have a good night you three” she called to us with a wave. 

We called back fair wells in response as she headed from the office. “Alright kid we should get back too. Got school in the morning” 

I heaved a sigh “right coming. Night Uncle C, bye Larry” 

“Night,” Charlie called, not looking up from his computer and Larry offered a wave. 

I grabbed my bag and books and followed Don out of the office. “So you and Terry had fun?” 

“Uh yeah more than dad anyway. Bit of a train wreck for the poor guy” Don explained. I made a humming noise of acknowledgement wondering what had gone so wrong to qualify as a train wreck. “Listen, I know you said you were fine with this whole thing but- uh you know I’ve seen enough to be able to tell when someone’s not fine and it’s okay if you need space to deal with it or whatever but uh, I just I guess if you have to talk about it.” he kinda trailed off with gesturing hands as words failed him. 

“We really suck at this communications thing” I determined. 

Don scoffed as we exited the building “yeah well at least we’re trying” 

“True” I murmured and took a deep breath “there is something I need to tell you. There’s this thing I have. Gramps correlated it with panic attacks but it’s part of my memory they call it-” 

“Intrusive memory right?” Don interjected. 

I snapped my head up to look at him “you know about it?” 

The man nodded “yeah it was in your medical records. Social worker warned me about it. I am your legal guardian if you recall” 

“Oh” I murmured realizing I probably should have realized he knew about this sooner “so why didn’t you say anything about it?” 

“Well, I figured you’d talk to me about it when you were ready or at least not until you had an attack or something” Don explained awkwardly. 

A small smile came to my face “thanks” 

“Hey you’re my kid. As new as I am to this parent thing I can stand to get a couple things right” he told me. 

I laughed lightly “okay” 

“Okay” Don nodded “now let's get out of here it’s late” he pulled me into a small side hug arm around my shoulder as we headed toward the car and I couldn’t help but keep smiling.  
________________  
“Yo!” Don called coming in through the back door. 

“We’re in here.” Alan called in reply. 

A moment later Don came in with a box setting it on the dining room table “Hey, All right, FBI accountants went over all of Nevelson’s financials, and these are all the documents that relate to the foundation. Our people could find nothing.” 

“So why didn’t you have Charlie look at the records in the first place?” Alan inquired as I continued to eat quietly. Saving my ‘I could help’ pleas for later. 

“The FBI has a team of excellent forensic accountants.” Charlie objected. 

“I know.” the elderly man clarified “but it wouldn’t be the first time you find something that they missed.” 

“You know, a lot of mathematicians do have eidetic numerical memory” Charlie explained “similar to Abby’s ability to remember everything she encounters visually only specifically geared toward numbers that are repeated and in patterns”

“So my memories better” I commented with a smirk. 

“Your visual memory yes” Charlie gave me a look as he got up and began looking through the papers. 

“So I could be able to help” I pointed out. 

“Yes you-” Charlie cut off looking back his brother “but you probably shouldn’t” 

“Yeah and I’m saying you’re not going to,” Don declared as Charlie took the box and headed into the foyer. 

I groaned rolling my eyes “you know once I turn eighteen I’m going to get my clearance and then you won’t be able to stop me”

“Yeah well right now you’re going to help me with dishes while he works on that” Don decided collecting plates “come on” he chided and I gathered my plate and cup as well as Alan’s.

“No here I got it uh…” Grandpa objected and glanced at my dad’s back who was walking into the kitchen as he stood up. “I want to talk to Don for a second alright?” 

“Alright but if I happen to stay out here and see Charlie’s stuff for the case..” I trailed with a pointed look. 

“Fine I’ll cover for you. Deal?” He replied. 

“Best grandpa ever” I smiled and he hummed with an amused smile on his face as I turned and headed after my uncle.  
_______________  
**3rd POV.**

Don looked over his shoulder as he entered the kitchen and was surprised to see his father following him rather than his daughter. “What happened to Abby?” 

“She had homework I made her go work on it” Alan replied “you know she’s stubborn about that stuff puts it off” Don let off a humming noise his instincts of suspicion kicking in “mainly cuz I wanted to ask you about something.” 

“What?” Don gave his father a look as he put the dishes in the sink. This made more sense. 

“You’re best date ever was with your partner?” Alan inquired and immediately Don realized why Alan had pestered Abby away before asking. 

“Dad, please” 

“No, it’s just a simple observation.” Alan defended as they put away the food. “I mean if it was so great why did you split up?” 

“It was an academy thing” Don explained “we got posted to different places. We had our careers to concentrate on.” 

“So now you’re in the same city, same careers” 

“Same office” Don cut his father off “which, in our case, can be a dangerous thing.” 

“Your mother and I met at work.” Alan posed.

“In the lunch line.” Don pointed out “Look, Dad, Terry and I have to see each other every day. You know? We have to look out for each other.”

“So that means any trust issues are already behind you.” the father suggested. “Plus Abby seems to like her” 

“Look, just because you’re eager to start dating again-” 

“Eager? Are you kidding me?” Alan cut his son off exasperatedly “you saw me last night. I know, I know, I know I got to get back into it. Your mother said I should meet new people after she was gone.” 

“Well, that’s right. That sounds like her” Don agreed. 

“I know she made me promise.” Alan sighed “I mean, she knew that, without a push, that I might not do it. So she pushed” Don nodded considering his father’s words. “And remember Donnie you’ve got more to think about than just yourself now” 

Don sighed “yeah I know” he looked out the kitchen door toward the space in the house his daughter was somewhere. 

“Being a parent is never easy and it’s twice as hard to be a single parent doing the work for two” Alan voiced. Don let out a breath and the two men were silent for a moment. “Just consider this your push” 

A moment later Abby popped her head into the kitchen. “Me and Charlie found something in the records.” she announced.

“You and Charlie?” Don questioned giving her a stern look. “What happened to homework?” The teen grimaced slightly and shot a look to her Grandfather who held his hands up in surrender. Don sighed “show me what you found” 

Abby led him out to the table in the foyer where Charlie had the records spread out under a light. “You’re never going to believe this,” Abby murmured. 

“Believe what?” Don asked, confused. 

“Fake people” Abby stated as if that were clearer. 

Don looked to his brother “Now, here is a list of workers employed in building the foundation”

“And?” Don questioned. 

“And a lot of them don’t exist.” Charlie stated “yeah. There’s a preponderance of fours and sevens in the union ID numbers, which could be due to accounting codes, except they show up in the overtime hours like, 14s and 17s everywhere here, here, and here” Charlie showed Don the various documentation. “These numbers, they can’t be explained by random occurrence. Somebody made them up. They’ve been fabricated by someone who likes these numbers who left behind a pretty obvious pattern.” 

“Fake people” Abby reiterated. 

“Well obvious to you” Don grumbled looking the paper over. 

“People like us” Abby clarified “honestly your forensic accountants should have picked up on it” 

“Here’s a very interesting thing also.” Charlie hurried over to the other side of the table as Don shot his daughter a warning look at her disrespectful tone. “All the, ah, all the workers we’ve identified as fake are listed as welders. Except there aren’t any other welders on the payroll backup.”

“Well you can’t build a foundation without welders” Alan piped in from the tv room “sounds like Nevelson was using a shadow crew.” 

“So how would that work, Dad?” Don asked as Alan walked over. 

“Non-union laborers, usually illegal aliens. They pay them under the table.” the former city planner explained “see, the contractors would use them at night to avoid the unions.”

“So what? Like lower pay, no overtime, medical benefits?” Don questioned. 

“That’s right” Alan nodded heading back to the kitchen. 

“But people still get hurt” Don voiced thoughtfully. “And there’ll be hospital records”  
________________  
**Abby POV.**

“So I am getting right back on that horse” Alan declared as the four of us sat at a restaurant eating. “Not that this lady is anything like a horse.” he added “she’s really quite attractive.” 

“So it’s not a blind date?” Don clarified. 

“No, it’s the butcher that sold me the duck.” Alan explained. 

“No” Don chuckled. 

“Yes” Alan insisted “yeah, she’s very nice and she really knows her waterfowl.”

“Right” Don scoffed. 

“Good luck Gramps” I encouraged. 

“Why thank you Abby” Alan smiled then turned to his younger son “Charlie. Charlie” When the mathematician was only somewhat responsive the elderly man turned back to me and Don “this is not the brilliant thought brood. This is the other brood.” he informed. 

“You alright Charlie?” Don asked. 

“You knew it was a suicide.” Charlie stated 

“No look,” Don objected, shaking his head “I said from the get-go I didn’t know, but I did suspect.” 

“Despite all the variables and the inconclusive autopsy, and the layers of crime that were uncovered?” Charlie pressed. 

“The fact that the kid exhibited suicidal behavior and then he did it.” Don explained. “It’s Occam's Razor you know? I mean, the simplest answer is usually the right one.” 

“Occam’s Razor?” Alan questioned. 

“What” Don gave us looks as we all began to chuckle slightly “I read a book every now and then. I mean I did help in the creation of the biggest book worm I know.” he ruffled my hair slightly. 

“Occam was a philosopher, he wasn’t a mathematician” Charlie pointed out “and what he actually said was that you shouldn’t make more assumptions than needed. It’s the basis of methodological reductionism. So, any given data set,...” 

“And I thought school was done for today” I muttered as Charlie began to scribble on a napkin. Don and Alan just scoffed and let the man go. He needed to talk right now.


	5. Home

“You didn’t think to tell him first” 

“Well I did but unlike Charlie he doesn’t live here” 

“Sometimes it feels like we live here” 

“Ain’t that the truth. Maybe I should give him a call later” 

“Oh no don’t do that” 

“Why not?” 

“Because I want to see his face when he finds out” I replied grinning broadly as I looked at my grandfather over the back of the chair in the sitting room. 

“You know you have a liking to trouble that alarms me sometimes” Gramps muttered. I just shrugged. There was a knock at the door and the man straightened “alright now get up and make yourself look presentable” he instructed heading for the door I got up and stood off to the side as he opened the door. 

“Hello” the woman at the door greeted. 

“Hi you must be Ms. Collins yes?” Alan smiled politely and let her in. She nodded in response looking around the room as she entered. “I’m Alan and this is my granddaughter, Abby” 

“Nice to meet you, and call me Meredith please” She smiled at us and extended a hand that I shook politely. 

“So I was thinking we could start in the back of the house, go through inside and then head outside” Alan suggested. 

“That sounds like a plan” the woman agreed “but I can tell you I already like this entrance space very open and welcoming” 

“Oh thank you” Alan smiled then led her toward the back hall. The woman started to walk and he turned to me “you keep working on your homework. I don’t want to come in here and find you reading another mystery novel” 

I let off an exasperated breath but surrendered at his stern look. He hurried after the real estate agent and I headed back over to my seat. Not long after Charlie came in and headed straight upstairs not even acknowledging my presence. I sighed and continued filling in the pointless pages of my english workbook when the door opened again. 

“Hello” Don called into the house. 

“Hi” I called in reply and he came over to my chair to look over my shoulder. 

“English huh?” he asked. 

“Vocab workbook” I explained “not only do I use a majority of these terms in my normal venacular a third of them I don’t plan to use and all of them I can literally just read the definition of and have it memorized I don’t need to fill this out” 

“You do need to” Don objected “for a grade not for your brain” 

“Yeah but isn’t school supposed to be about the opposite” I grumbled. 

“Yeah well, life ain’t always like that kid” he commented, messing up my hair as he straightened and Charlie came into the room. 

“Hey” the younger brother greeted the older. “Tell me you found Emily Burdick” 

“No, I’m sorry buddy not yet” Don replied. 

“Who’s-” my question was cut off by Alan’s voice reaching us from the kitchen. 

“Hey, take a look at this. Here in the kitchen, I put in the new sink myself, and the, uh… I did the tile work.” Alan was explaining. 

“Oh it’s beautiful work” Meredith complimented “I like how you’ve preserved the original Craftsman detail.” 

“Oh, hey, boys” Alan greeted as they entered the foyer I closed my workbook and shifted around onto my knees in the seat to watch the show. 

“Hi,” Charlie spoke first “we didn’t know you were home” 

“Meredith, my two sons” Alan introduced “this is Don and Charlie” 

“How are you?” my father greeted, shaking the woman’s hand. 

“Hi Don” the woman replied and turned to the younger brother. 

“Hello” Uncle C shook her hand as well. 

“Hello Charlie” she smiled. 

“Pleasure” he assured. 

“Oh, Meredith would you mind going upstairs for a minute?” Alan asked politely “I’ll be right with you” 

“Sure” she responded and headed off waving to me in greeting as she passed. 

“What?” Alan asked as he turned to see the faces of his two sons. 

“Nice, she’s cute,” Don pointed out with a grin. I had to try and keep from laughing.

“What’s going on?” Charlie asked, seeming amused “What is this?” 

“Oh, come on Charlie. Don’t you remember we talked about this?” Alan sighed in annoyance and I no longer worked to hide my giggles which earned me a look from the men. 

“Talked about what? No” Charlie replied in confusion. 

“I’m sorry, I should have made sure you were paying attention when I was ta-” 

“Don’t apologize, Dad.” Don objected, cutting his father off. 

“No you have no idea what this is all about, trust me” Gramps told his eldest. 

“I don’t think we want to know,” Charlie scoffed. 

“Well you have to know” Alan tried to explain, shooting me annoyed looks as I continued to laugh at the scene. 

“No, we don’t, Dad” Don started “Look you’re allowed a private life” 

“Wait a minute. Just hold it a second” Alan finally intervened “this is not a date” 

Charlie then began to draw bad conclusions it seemed as Don shot me a look “oh, my… Dad, what are you telling me? That this woman is a pr-” 

“Real estate agent” Alan cut off the word about to leave his youngest son's mouth. 

“Oh right” Don murmured in realization as I finally got control of myself. 

“I’m confused. Are you dating a real estate agent?” Charlie asked. 

“I thought you were supposed to be a genius” I muttered from my seat. 

“Hey, you, homework” Don ordered pointing to my workbook. I gave him an annoyed look in response. “No, Charlie, he’s selling the house. Right?” 

“Yes” Alan nodded. 

“Why I- I live here. You live here.” Charlie objected. 

“Don’t you remember?” Alan inquired “I said I wanted to find a smaller place for myself, maybe a condo.” 

“I remember that, sure.” Charlie murmured. 

“And you need a place of your own” Gramps continued. 

“Yeah but I didn’t think you were serious” Uncle C explained growing irritated “you can’t- you can’t sell our house.”

“What are you saying?” Don turned to his brother in confusion. 

“The market is at its peak right now.” Alan attempted to explain to his youngest who was not happy. 

“Yeah but I live here” Charlie reiterated. 

“We are living- We are living on a very large part of my retirement savings” Alan declared 

“He’s right,” Don agreed. “Prices are high believe me I looked around” 

“Can we- do me a favor-” Charlie continued to ramble as Meredith came down the stairs. 

“I like how it looks upstairs; it’s great,” she explained. “I love the solarium” 

“Oh you haven’t seen the outside” Alan told her. 

“I do my best work in the solarium” Charlie commented seeming rather dazed now. 

There was some clanging from the pipes overhead “oh, that’s the heating system.” Alan told Meredith “it’s a little temperamental. It needs a little finessing. I’ll show you later” with that he led her out the door with one last look directed at his sons continuing to talk to the woman. 

Don looked over at me “I take it from the maniacal laughter earlier you knew about this?” he asked I shrugged “uh huh, thanks for the heads up” 

“I can’t believe this” Charlie murmured and Don’s focus turned to him. 

“Look, relax” Don reassured his brother, “I got a great apartment in a good neighborhood. You’ll find one too” 

“Then why are you over here all the time?” Charlie questioned. 

“Because of that one for a start” he gestured to me “and because I’m making sure you let dad have a life” he declared heading into the dining room.  
____________  
I raked a couple more leaves toward the pan and let off a breath “you know I have homework to do. I should really be inside.” 

“Ah ah nice try” Alan objected quickly. “You’re helping. Though I do find it ironic you only ever do your homework to get out of doing something else” 

I shot him an annoyed look and continued to rake the leaves scattered about the yard as Alan dumped the tray into the trash bag Charlie held. “You know, Dad I’ve been checking around. You were right about the house. You were right.” Charlie spoke up. 

“Yeah, the real estate lady said that this property on the current market, I can expect competing bids.” Alan explained. 

“Dad, am I, uh… Do I bug you?” he asked. 

“What? What kind of a question is that?” Alan looked to his son confused. 

“Well, it’s just, you know my math work, and uh..” Charlie cleared his throat as Alan unloaded another tray of leaves into the trash bag “I never listen, and I’m always in my own world.” 

“Well, that sort of makes you the ideal housemate, doesn’t it, Charlie?” Alan pointed out “plus you contribute more than our part-timer over here” he gestured to me. 

“I’m contributing” I held up my rake as proof. Alan gave me a look as he held up another tray of leaves he had raked. 

“I just wanted to make sure.” Charlie sighed 

“Make sure of what?” Gramps asked. 

“You’re selling the house because you want to do it for yourself.” Charlie clarified. 

“No, Charlie, I want to do it for both of us,” Alan informed. 

“I thought we were having a good time,” Charlie continued. 

“We are” Alan agreed “It’s just this house is so big, and it takes so much work to maintain it. And besides you’re almost 30. Don’t you think it’s about time you found a place of your own?” 

“I love this house,” Charlie said. 

“So do I” Alan sighed “but still, the both of us we have to move on” Charlie nodded “alright now you two finish up here I’m going to go make us something to eat” 

I sighed and started raking the leaves more now that Alan was gone. I glanced over at my Uncle’s saddened face “you really do love this house a lot huh?” I questioned. 

“There’s a lot of good memories here” Charlie informed “history” 

I shrugged “I don’t really get that. Bonding your history to a place. Growing up with my mom we were always on the move. I was thirteen when we got our own stable place that actually was ours not a transition or one of her boyfriends places. I never really had a place that was home” 

“I’m sorry” Charlie murmured. 

I shrugged “just because I didn’t have a place doesn’t mean I didn’t have anything. Maybe if I did i’d hate to lose it too” 

“Yeah” Charlie nodded and looked back at the house with a sigh.  
__________  
**3rd POV.**

Don sighed entering the Burdick’s kitchen where Ethan was pouring himself some coffee before heading back to work with Charlie and Amita on the fake algorithm. The mathematician's hands were shaking and he missed the cup slightly splashing hot coffee on his hand. He winced, nearly dropping the cup. 

“Here let me” Don intervened taking the coffee pot and mug filling it as Ethan grabbed a towel to wipe his hand off. The frightened man let off a shaky breath. 

They were silent for a moment before Ethan spoke up “do you have any children Agent Eppes?” 

Don was caught off guard slightly by the question. “Yeah” he nodded “a daughter she’s sixteen”

“Then you understand” Ethan voiced turning to the agent “Emily is everything to me. Is there anything you wouldn’t do for your daughter?” 

“No” Don murmured without even having to think. 

“I have to get Emily back no matter what and- and if she dies-” he choked on his words. “I can’t lose her” 

“I know.” Don sighed “I only met my daughter about two months ago and I can tell you it- it changed everything for me. There was this one time she went missing it was only for an hour or so but for me it felt like an eternity. I couldn’t think straight I- I was terrified with a kind of fear I’d never felt before and- and she was okay. So I can’t even begin to imagine what this is like for you. But I can promise you I will do whatever it takes to try and get your daughter back to you. Okay?” 

Ethan took a deep breath “okay” he grabbed the coffee mug and started to head back to the table to work but paused looking back at Don. “What's your daughter’s name?” 

“Abby” Don replied. Ethan nodded and continued out to the table leaving Don there in the kitchen with his thoughts.  
______________  
Don came into his apartment with a sigh glad to finally be back after working so hard on the case. “I’m home brought dinner” he called, setting the pizza he’d gotten down on the counter. Abby appeared after a moment from upstairs. 

“What’d you get?” she asked hopping onto a bar stool as he grabbed a beer from the fridge. 

“Meat lovers” 

“Yes!” she cheered, folding the box and grabbing a slice. “Grab me a Mountain Dew” she asked while he was in the fridge and he pulled the can from the shelf in the door and set it on the counter. “Thank you” 

Don popped the lid off his beer and went to get his own piece of pizza. “You get your homework done?” 

“Yes” Abby grumbled “finally. I swear they give me more just because they know I hate it” 

Don scoffed “yeah I thought the same thing in school and I wasn’t a genius.” 

Abby hummed “So guess what Charlie told me.” 

“What?” 

“He’s buying the house from Gramps” Abby informed. 

Don looked at her shocked “no way” 

“Yes way” Abby nodded, “apparently he has a lot saved up since you know he’s never had to pay rent or anything before and he liked the house so…” she shrugged, taking a sip of her soda. 

“Huh” Don muttered. 

“I’m glad,” Abby declared. 

“Yeah why’s that?” Don asked. 

“Spend a lot of time there and it’s a cool house” Abby explained. 

“Fair enough” the man conceded. 

“Don’t you care about it?” she asked. 

“Yeah but you know it’s just a place right? I moved out ages ago.” 

“Doesn’t seem like it” 

“Well yeah alright” Don muttered giving Abby a look as she smirked. “Seriously though working with the FBI I moved around a lot guess it helps you realize that what they say is true” 

“What they say?” Abby questioned. 

“Yeah” Don shrugged “home isn’t really a place it’s a people” 

Abby smiled “well I like you people” she declared. 

Don chuckled “me too kid” and he raised up his bottle a bit and Abby tapped it with her soda can for their own little toast.


	6. People

“Is there a reason you’re eating your lunch in the hallway?” I looked up at Mrs. Clive who had her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. 

“Ms. Rampart kicked me out of the library” I replied, turning back to my book. 

“And the cafeteria?” Clive pressed. 

“Is full of annoyances known as people” I explained. 

“You know if you interacted with them you might find that people aren’t as annoying as you might think” the woman suggested. 

“I find that highly unlikely,” I muttered. 

Clive made a humming noise of acknowledgement. “Your father called said you need to take the bus to your grandfather’s house” 

“Great another case” I grumbled. 

The bell rang I packed my book into my backpack as kids started filing into the hallway. “Have a good day today Abby” 

“You too teach” I replied to Clive grabbing my tray of food and backpack heading toward the cafeteria. 

I made it around the corner before my foot hit something. In the next second I was hitting the ground, my tray flinging from my hand and clattering on the tile a foot away. “Better watch where you’re going street rat” the girl who had tripped me called giggling with her friends as they headed down the hallway. 

“Street rat? What are we in Aladdin” I muttered getting to my knees and gathering what had spilled from my tray.   
____________  
I climbed off the bus in front of my grandfather’s house with my nose in a book. “Hey you must be Abby right?” 

My head shot up and I turned to see a woman sitting in a car in front of the house smiling at me. “Uh yeah who are you?” I asked suspiciously. 

“I’m Amita. Charlie’s my thesis advisor” she explained extending a hand and setting down her own book. “I’m just waiting on him” 

I shook her hand as realization dawned on me “yeah I’ve heard of you” 

She nodded “you’re reading C.S. Lewis’s Narnia” she observed. 

I held up the brick of a book in my hand “yeah I found this copy that has all the books in one in the library and couldn’t resist” I explained. “I’m already on A Horse and His Boy” 

“I only read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. I was curious after watching the movie” Amita explained. 

I smiled “yeah I loved the movie. The effects were great, especially the detail they put into making Aslan seem real. Plus the child actors were great and they stuck pretty close to the book for an adaptation” 

“Definitely” Amita agreed. “Are you a movie fan?” 

“Uh yeah” I nodded and opened my mouth to talk more when I saw Amita’s eyes shift to look behind me. 

“Hello Mr. Eppes” she called. I turned to see my grandfather walking across the front of the house. 

“Oh hi” he greeted, seeming caught off guard. 

“Nice to see you” Amita smiled. 

“Nice to see you again,” he agreed, hurrying to the door. 

I looked between Amita and the door “I should get inside I have homework” 

“Alright, it was nice talking to you” Amita smiled. 

“Uh yeah you too” I agreed and hurried up the steps to the front door following my grandfather inside. 

Charlie was there sitting at the coffee table. “...so I could check this text on encryption and code breaking” he was in the middle of telling Alan. 

“Uh, and you left her waiting in the car?” the elderly man questioned making Charlie look out the window at the woman. I looked between them briefly before going to sit in a chair on the other side of the room. “No, no this is not the way we treat people, Charlie.” Alan instructed his son as I tried to focus back on my book “you bring her inside, you at least offer her something to drink. You know, like an adult.” 

“We just stopped by for a second,” Charlie objected. 

“You came in fifteen minutes ago Charlie” Alan informed. “Meanwhile she’s just sitting in that car out there.” 

“Well, I just got caught up in something.” Charlie defended gathering his things. 

“Yeah, I know, I know” 

“I don’t see what the big deal is.” 

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about,” Alan explained. 

“What?” Charlie murmured confused. 

“She likes you, you know?” Alan declared. That made Charlie freeze in his shuffling of papers and I peaked over the back of the chair I was sitting sideways in to watch them. “Aren’t you ever going to do something about that?” 

Charlie looked out the window at the woman and then at his father who turned to walk away. His face was something like sad and scared. Alan sighed and came over to where I was. 

“I hope you’re better with people than that,” he told me. 

“I wouldn’t bet on it Gramps” I replied, turning the page of my book.   
______________  
“I know my due date,” David objected. 

“I’m sorry” Charlie replied. 

“They trying to show me up, man” the agent chuckled. 

“No man” Don muttered. 

“I apologize,” Charlie repeated. 

“Okay, all right.” Terry nodded. 

“Here you go” Alan declared, setting a platter down in the middle of the table. Don and I both reached for the food first. 

“Excellent dad” Don smiled as we all gave Alan our thanks as he retreated back toward the kitchen. 

“No no no I was a good student. No, I just couldn’t get into math.” Terry explained to the group “Couldn’t see how it could relate to the real world” Both me and Uncle C froze giving Terry a look. Charlie sat down his beer as David chuckled and Don sighed. I grabbed another piece of bread “what? What did I say?” the agent inquired. 

“I think you’re about to find out” David informed her. 

“Oh you guys are on your own.” Don said getting up and tapping me on the shoulder telling me to follow him. “Good luck” 

Charlie began to explain to the agents how math was everywhere in the world as I followed Don toward the kitchen. “Did you really almost get blown up today?” I asked. 

“Yeah kinda almost did” Don sighed “David saved my ass” he gestured back to his agent. 

“You remember the promise you made me right?” I asked “about always fighting to stay alive” 

“Trust me kid I remember and I’m still holding to it alright” he reassured me and I nodded. “Listen I talked to that teacher of yours on the phone Mrs. Clive. She’s worried about you says your eating lunch in the hallway instead of the cafeteria” 

“A lot of kids don’t eat in the cafeteria” I pointed out. 

“Do they also eat alone in the hallway?” he inquired. I shrugged in reply “yeah that’s what I thought. Listen Abby you can’t be afraid to make friends. I mean Charlie was in high school with a bunch of kids older than him and he still had friends I think you can manage it”

“Yeah but people like Charlie” I muttered. 

“People will like you too. I'm sure you just need to find the right people,” he advised me. “Here how about we make a deal. You sit in the cafeteria for a while, try it out. Now I’m not saying go up and talk to people but just be around them, see if anyone comes to you. Give it lets say a month no friends made you go back to sitting in the hallway” 

I gave him a look and thought about before letting off a breath “fine deal but if nothing happens you have to promise not to bug me about it again and take me to get ice cream” 

Don scoffed at my terms but nodded “deal” He turned to talk to Alan as Amita came out of the kitchen with the silverware for the table. 

“Here let me help” I offered and she handed over half the utensils. 

“Thanks” she smiled. “How’s Narnia coming?” 

“Good” I replied “I’m already on the next book in the series” 

“Wow you read fast” she commented. 

“Uh yeah it’s kind of a gift I have” I explained. 

“Charlie mentioned that” Amita agreed. “I think it’s really cool” 

“Yeah well you’d be in the minority” I scoffed. 

“Uh yeah let me guess school nerd girl?” she asked with a knowing look. 

“It’s either that or the street rat” I explained. 

“High school girls are mean” Amita stated “I hated it. I feel bad for you but I’d take solace in the fact that you’re smarter than they are and one day what they call you will be more like a badge of honor than an insult” 

I chuckled “badge of honor really?” 

“Oh definitely” she nodded and gave me a double take “oh wow is that a Captain America shirt?” 

I looked down at my t-shirt before turning back to the college student “yeah he’s one of my favorites though Batman’s top of the list superhero wise. Each the respective favorites for me in their universes” 

“I always favored Marvel over DC, seemed more colorful” she pointed out. 

“Yeah but DC was angsty” I joked. We shared a laugh. “I wish there were people like you in school then I wouldn’t be so against making friends.” 

Amita scoffed “I’m sure there are you just got to find them. Plus in the meantime we could be friends” 

I looked up at her surprised “really? You want to be friends with a sassy high school genius?” 

“Are you kidding sassy highschool geniuses make the best friends” Amita stated and we laughed again. Maybe Clive was right, people weren’t as annoying as I assumed.


	7. Commonalities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello readers! I'd like to just point out that I haven't really had this beta read or looked at so any comments on what you liked or ways that I can improve would be super helpful. I'm always looking to improve my works and you all as the consumers of the stories are the ones that know it best. Happy reading!

“You know I think that fact that I’m not even questioning the giant projector screen with Alexander Hamilton’s face on it in the living room means that I’ve been living with you guys way too long” I muttered, tossing my bag on the couch as I entered the house. 

“Hello Abby” Uncle C greeted with a chuckle as he looked over the screen and began to mark one of the two versions of Hamilton’s face on the screen. 

“Whattcha doing?” I inquired. “The FBI is working on a counterfeiting case and I’m helping determine the differences between some old fake bills and new fake bills made by the same counterfeiter” he explained, pointing out which one of the Hamiltons was which.

I looked over the image “check in the center of his brow” I advised. 

Charlie looked up and quickly circled the defect. “Thank you” he murmured, circling another difference on the treasurer's nostril. 

“Hello” Don called in greeting as he entered the house. 

“Hello” Charlie muttered in response. 

“Hi” I greeted. 

“What are you doing?” Don asked, eyeing the projector. 

“I’m running a comparison between the counterfeit bills you found earlier today and the older bills that that secret service agent lady gave us.” Charlie explained “there’s a possibility that the small differences may yield some data about their current operation. By the way, I did not mean to cause a problem earlier.'' He added the apology in right along with his sentence. 

“You don’t have to apologize for anything” Don objected “I mean Agent Hall and I are- are- I mean, we worked it out. So…” Don dismissed the issue with a sigh. “You know if I left a box of stuff here?” 

“What kind of stuff?” Charlie inquired. 

“It’s just this one box in particular.” Don explained “when i moved back from Albuquerque. I thought I got everything, but it’s not in my apartment. I can’t remember where I put it” he turned to me “have you seen a box of my stuff” 

I shook my head “I wouldn’t know what it was if I had” 

Don nodded “you check the garage?” Charlie suggested. 

“Yeah” Don replied then the front door opened “that you Dad?” he called heading over. “Hey let me get the door” he offered, helping Alan whose arms were full of groceries. 

“You must have some kind of sixth sense.” Alan declared “I buy rib-eye and you just materialize” 

“Well actually…” Don started then paused “you say rib-eye?” 

“Yeah” Alan nodded. 

“With, like, a baked potato?” he asked Alan just chuckled then he spotted Charlie’s set up. 

“Oh, very nice, Charlie” Alan sighed “so how long is this going to be?” 

“This is just for a few days.” Charlie assured as Don took a seat. “I needed to look at this as soon as I possibly could” Uncle C knelt at his computer and changed to screen to the upper right hand corner of the bills “Now the spiral patterns in money are based on a technique called guilloche. It’s like a wheel within a wheel within a wheel; a pattern created by the additions and multiplications of nested sine waves. Same was used by Faberge to create those little famous eggs” 

“Oh well that explains it” Alan muttered and I chuckled. 

“What does this have to do with the case?” Don questioned. 

“I think they have a new artist,” Charlie declared, “in fact, I'm sure of it.” 

“How can you tell that?” Don asked 

“I’ve been running a wavelet analysis of these spirals I’m talking about.” Charlie informed “mathematicians at Dartmouth use a similar process to test authenticity of masterpiece paintings. Here, look it..” Charlie reached into his pocket and pulled out a real ten “alright ten dollars. Now we don’t often think about it, but someone must’ve drawn this design, right?”

“You’re right?” Don nodded. 

“I want you to think of that artist as a runner on the beach” Charlie gave the visual “he’s leaving footprints which record every decision he makes; faster, slower, closer to the water, farther away. Now these,” he gestured to the screen “are counterfeit bills, a second artist trying to copy the original. A second runner. Now, when that second runner tries to follow the exact same path as the first, it’s impossible. Even if he’s being careful he can’t match the footprints without leaving evidence of himself. Different foot size, different stride, that’s how you spot a forgery. And when a third runner tries to match the footprints, he’ll leave evidence as well, but in a different way than the second runner.” Charlie explained “these two counterfeit bills have two different footprints.”

“Hence the new artist.” Don inferred. 

“You find that artist..” 

“Charlie we can’t find the counterfeiter,” Don objected “let alone the artist” 

“You keep on saying he’s an artist this guy.” Alan spoke up “he’s not really an artist is he? He’s more like a copier” 

“Well he has to have some skill to draw something so detailed” I commented. 

“It’s actually, it’s more like being able to draw, you know say, the Mona Lisa. freehand.” Don supplied. 

“Oh I see” Alan muttered picking up the grocery bags and heading toward the kitchen. 

“What I can do now, Don,” Charlie continued “is to take this initial comparative analysis and…” 

Don was no longer listening to Charlie instead he got up and pulled out his phone. “Hey David it’s Don. Look, I want to expand the search, okay? Not just counterfeiters, but art forgers. Yeah alright” he hung up the phone and turned to his brother “good work” he declared before heading after Alan into the kitchen. 

“I think we gave him an idea,” I told Charlie. 

“I think you’re right,” the man agreed.  
_______________  
The cafeteria was probably my least favorite place in school. At least in the back of the classroom I could tune people out and it was mostly quiet. In the cafeteria everything was loud, people were moving and cliques ran rampant.

I took my tray and headed toward a booth in the corner that was empty. I was almost there when something caught my foot and I fell to the ground, my tray clattering and spraying the chicken noodle soup I had been about to eat everywhere. 

“Watch where you’re going reject!” A girl who had been splashed by my food snapped standing straight up. 

“Really making a habit of this huh street rat?” the girl who had made it a habit to trip me asked from behind as I got to my knees. 

“You could really stand to come up with better insults” I voiced casually keeping the anger out of my voice “you know I’ve been called some pretty creative things and you just ain’t cutting it” 

The girl who’d tripped me scoffed. “This shirt was designer” the girl I had gotten soup on screeched. 

I looked at the blue and white striped top “sorry but I think you got ripped off” I pointed out without thinking. 

“Hey you trying to pick a fight?” a boy asked standing up behind the girl. 

“No, I'm just trying to eat lunch” I replied cautiously starting to stand. 

“Yeah well if I were you I’d scram” he told me. I held up my hands in a defensive gesture and reached down to collect my tray. I hand grabbed my bicep yanking me back “I said scram” 

I was tossed back into the girl who had tripped me who launched me forward back toward the guy who was stepping forward fists clenched. “A street rat like you shouldn’t be here” the girl behind me snapped.

“Yeah and a bitch like you shouldn’t be gifted vocal chords looks like nobody wins” I countered looking back at her.

“Why you little-” she threw a punch that caught me in the jaw. I started to go down but grabbed her down with me. 

People had started chanting and gathering as we wrestled on the ground pulling hair, punching, and kicking. I had the upper hand by the time I was being grabbed and pulled off her by a pair of teachers. 

“Enough!” Clive yelled, stepping between us. As the other girl got helped to her feet all I could think was that I shouldn’t have taken Don’s deal.  
________________  
**3rd POV.**

“That’s what I’m thinking,” Don murmured. The group began to disperse heading to fill out reports and gather more information connected to this new finding. Don was about to follow with when he got a call. 

He glanced at the phone and was surprised to see it was the number of his daughter’s school he sighed before answering “hello” 

“Hello Mr. Eppes this is Mrs. Clive I’m your daughter Abby’s teacher. We’ve talked before” the woman on the other side answered. 

“Yes I remember” Don replied already getting a bad feeling “is she okay?” 

“For the most part” The woman sighed, sounding tired from what Don could tell and slightly annoyed? “She was involved in a fight today at school during lunch” 

“She what?” Don asked immediately, agitated. “What happened?” 

“It was an altercation incited by some other students in the cafeteria” Clive explained “witnesses and video confirmed that the other girl threw the first punch but she’s still going to be having detention for all of next week” 

Don let off a breath his initial anger cooling “do I need to come pick her up?” 

“No she’ll be finishing out the day as normal but I would suggest talking to her about it” Clive stated she’s right here” 

Don shook his head “yeah put her on” 

“Hello Donald” Abby muttered into the phone. 

“You alright?” he asked first. 

“Yeah I’m fine. Bloody lip some bruising girl wasn’t that tough” Abby replied and he could visualize her shrugging as she said it. 

“What happened to making friends?” Don inquired. 

“I tried. I got punched” Abby muttered bluntly “does this negate the deal?” 

Don sighed “we’ll negotiate the finer points of the deal later” he paused “how’d the other girl turn out?” 

“Worse then me” Abby muttered and he heard the slight pride in her voice. 

“I don’t want to get more calls at work about you getting in fights” Don stated “but good job defending yourself” 

“Thanks Don” Abby replied a smile in her voice. 

“Yeah kid see you later” he told her. 

“Bye” 

He hung up and pocketed the phone. “What was that about?” Don turned surprised to find Kim looking at him from where she had been gathering files. He hadn’t realized she was still in the room. 

“My daughter got in a fight at school,” he explained. 

“Daughter?” Kim questioned straightening in surprise. 

“Uh yeah” Don muttered realizing how odd this was going to be to explain. “She’s sixteen. Me and her mother were together in college I didn’t know until her mom died and she was sent to live with me two months ago. Her names Abby” 

“Abby” Kim nodded “you’re a dad. That’s uh that’s not really something I expected to find out”

“Yeah me neither” he joked lightly there an awkward silent moment between them and he took the moment to retreat from the room.  
______________________  
**Abby POV.**

“You got in a fight at school?” Alan asked the minute I walked through the front door. 

I sighed “I didn’t start it.” 

“Don called and told me” Alan explained “what happened?” 

“Girl punched me. I punched back. She got suspended. I got detention” I muttered tossing my backpack on the couch. 

“Well why’d she punch you?” Alan pressed. 

I shrugged “she likes to trip kids she doesn’t like going through the halls and called them names I called her one back and she couldn’t take it” 

Alan sighed “Abby, you have to be the better person. Turn the other cheek” 

“My innate ability for sarcasm doesn’t really lend to that” I told him. “Where’s Uncle C by the way. I want to ask if I can help on the case” 

“I think he went downstairs” Alan explained then looked at me closer. “Is your lips bleeding?” 

I brought a hand up to my lip and touched it causing a little sting. “It's nothing serious” I assured and headed past him toward the basement steps. 

Alan was right behind me. I descended the steps and looked to see Charlie pilfering through a box. “You sure you want to be looking through that stuff?” Alan spoke up behind me. 

The younger man straightened over the box slightly, pictures in his hand “Dad, do you recognize this lady?” he asked, holding up the picture as me and Alan reached the bottom of the steps. Alan passed me and took the photo looking at it and I peered over his arm at it. The image was of my Dad and a woman with long brown hair. She was on his shoulders as he held up his arm proudly. 

“Uh, yeah, it’s Kim, isn’t it?” Alan voiced. 

“That’s Kim Hall” Charlie agreed. 

“Who’s Kim?” I asked. 

“She and Don lived together in New Mexico” Charlie explained “and, uh, he never told me about it.” 

“Well you know your brother.” Alan sighed. 

“Why do I get the feeling my dad has a lot of ex’s” I muttered. 

Alan made a face and nodded slightly as Charlie packed up the box. “You know we’d never heard your mother’s name until you showed up” Alan explained “Don’s just a very private person” 

“I guess everyone has a right to be private” I conceded knowing there were things I hadn’t told them about me. 

“Even to family?” Charlie sighed.  
______________________  
“Alright I’m back” Alan decreed, sitting down across from me and setting a bowl of popcorn on the table. “You didn’t move any of these when I wasn’t here did you?” he gestured to our chess game.

“No of course not” I replied annoyed as I grabbed a couple pieces of popcorn from the bowl. 

“Alright what’s bothering you?” Alan inquired, moving one of his rooks on the board. 

“What do you mean?” I replied sliding my bishop a couple squares. 

“Well normally a comment like mine would have initiated a snarky response” Alan explained “remember your innate ability for sarcasm? Instead I got a short response. So what is the matter?” 

“Nothing” I replied as he moved one of his pieces and I quickly countered him. 

“Yeah right does this have something to do with the fight at school?” Alan inquired. 

“No” I gave him a look “you might not want to hear this but this isn’t my first fight” 

“Yeah I didn’t want to know that but somehow it’s not really a surprise” Alan sighed “check” I quickly countered the check. “Does it have something to do with Don and this woman?” 

“I just don’t get it,” I voiced. Alan gave me a look and I sighed “It’s just, my mom and me we had this agreement that I wouldn’t lie to her and she wouldn’t keep secrets from me” I explained. “But it’s like with Don” I ended with a huffed breath. 

“Donnie doesn’t really understand that when you have kids you have to talk to them.” Alan explained “now there are somethings that kids don’t need to know about but this woman coming back into his life I do think is something you need to talk to him about” 

“He didn’t even mention her when we talked on the phone earlier” I commented. 

“Well when you talked on the phone there was a more pressing matter” Alan pointed out. I let off a breath and nodded eating some more popcorn. “Abby, I have the feeling communication will never be your and Don’s strong suit but just ask him about it alright?” 

“Alright” I muttered. 

“Oh checkmate” Alan informed. 

“Damn” I sighed “again?” 

“Sure” Alan agreed and started resetting the board. 

I looked into the bowl of popcorn before turning to my grandfather. “Do you have any peanut butter?”  
________________  
**3rd POV.**

“That’s the good part” Kim commented coming up to Don as they watched the woman who had been held hostage reunite with her husband. 

“Yup” Don agreed. 

“I forgot how much I missed that.” Kim voiced. 

“It’s a good thing, right?” 

“Yeah” Kim sighed “everyone’s already at Kinsella’s” she explained “Figure the Secret Service owes the FBI a few rounds if you want to come.” 

“Well, actually, I got a bit of work to do here,” Don objected. “And I have to go get Abby from my dad’s house so” 

“Okay” Kim agreed “we are going to trip over each other again, Don.” she pointed out “if you and Terry can be partners, we can at least try to..” 

“Yeah definitely” Don agreed. 

“Okay. well” Kim sighed “first rounds on me.” She started to walk but paused glancing back at the man “you know that kid of yours is pretty lucky to have you as her dad. I’m sure you’re great at it” 

Don nodded and smiled as the woman left passing Terry as she went. “More interagency politics?” the man’s partner commented in passing.  
_____________________  
Don unlocked the apartment door and headed inside followed by Abby. “so you basically had three kids ready to fight you and you still made a snarky comment?” 

Abby shrugged “the one girl was too prissy to throw down and I wasn’t sure the jock would hit a girl” 

“Yeah well” Don muttered, getting into the fridge to get a beer. Abby paused leaning on the counter. 

“So this Kim lady” she began and Don turned to her. “You guys were serious in the past right?” 

“Yeah” Don nodded “we were” 

“Okay” Abby bit her lip which stung a little since it was still cut and shifted on her feet. “You know me and my mom had this pact where we stopped keeping things from each other. And I don’t expect you to tell me everything. I mean I get not want to share but if anything comes up or like you know ex-girlfriends appear can you just clue me in. Please?” 

Each word was specifically chosen, Don could tell. She’d been thinking about this. She must have found out from Charlie or Alan. Part of Don felt annoyed at the idea that his relatives had told her about this but he knew she needed to know things. Her life was dependent on his now. 

“Okay” he agreed. Abby nodded with a slight smile. “Still you might want to put a lid on that attitude of yours or next time you might deserve to get punched” Don advised lightening the mood. 

“Hey I got it from you” the girl pointed out with a smirk before heading up the stairs to her room. Don sighed but a small smile came to his face. 

The man headed over to the couch and clicked on the tv. He watched it as he hard Abby moving around upstairs and eventually settle before there was a knock on his door. “Don?” 

He turned confused at his brother’s voice “Charlie?” he got up and headed to the door “you alright?” he opened the door to see his brother holding a box in his arms.

“Hey, I found this box. I thought I’d” he shuffled into the apartment.

“What? Bring it over at 2:00 in the morning?” Don questioned. 

“Yeah” Charlie muttered looking around the apartment. 

“Well keep it down Abby’s asleep” Don advised then he got a look at the box “what did you do? You opened it?” he took it away from his brother heading for the coffee table “what is with you, man? Even when we were kids, you were always going through my stuff.”

“You always had cool stuff” Charlie defended as Don sat down to look through the box's contents. His pace slowed as memories started to drift through his mind “seems like you left a lot of good friends back there, huh?” 

“Yeah, well, family first. Right?” Don muttered looking in the envelope his search had really been pointed toward.

“Right” Charlie murmured, still hanging near the doorway. Don pulled the ring from the envelope and shifted it in his fingers. Then he remembered Charlie was there looking up, they locked eyes and then quickly looked away. Don dropped the ring back in the envelope. 

“Look, I was going to tell you. I just..” Don trailed as he tried to gather his thoughts “I don’t know. I mean, we were in two different worlds. You know how it is.” Don sighed looking at a couple photos now “and mom got sick and… I don’t know.” 

“I understand” Charlie murmured. 

“Yeah?” Don looked for confirmation. 

“Yeah.” Charlie nodded “I agree we’re from, uh from two different worlds” 

“Well not so much lately” Don encouraged when he saw his father’s face fall “

“Yeah” a small smile appeared on Charlie’s face to match his brother’s. 

“See me all the time now.” Don pointed out. 

Charlie nodded “I’ve learned a lot from you, actually” he confessed. 

“Thanks” Don smiled. 

“Okay” Charlie shifted uncomfortable on his feet. 

“You want to watch the rest of the movie” Don suggested pointing to the tv. 

“Okay sure” Charlie agreed, easily coming to sit in the chair next to the couch. 

“It’s a great flick” Don explained moving the box off the coffee table “it’s about baseball” 

“The most statistically driven sport in the world” Charlie commented. 

“You want a beer?” Don offered. 

“No thanks” Charlie objected politely, eyes on the screen. 

“Chip?” 

“I’m okay” 

Abby smiled from her place hidden on the steps. She could tell from the beginning that her uncle and father were from different worlds and she wasn’t sure which she understood more. Still she was glad they could find their common ground, maybe it held hope for a future where her own world made a bit more sense.


	8. Sports

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to point out that I know nothing about sports so I'm writing based off very basic limited knowledge and a few google searches so sorry for any inaccuracies.

“Do I even need to ask?” David snapped. Uncle Charlie just smiled smugly turning his hand around. The entire table groaned in annoyance. 

“It’s not what it looks like, promise” Don spoke up. 

“You brother hustling us?” one of Don’s friends Mike muttered. 

“I’ve only played once before” Charlie informed as they collected the cards to deal another round of poker. “I actually have a one in eight chance of hitting a set when I’m holding a pocket pair. I’m about 50/50 to draw a flush with suited cards in my hand, two off the draw. I also count my outs I- I multiply by two. I add one. That’s roughly my percentage of hitting.” he explained. 

“Card math” I muttered over my father’s shoulder as I walked past the table. Leaning over to snag some chips out of the snack bowl. 

“Mr. Eppes you need to take my seat, your son is killing us” David declared as Alan brought out more chips. 

“No, not me” Gramps objected “the only other time Charlie played, I learned my lesson about gambling with a mathematician” 

“Hey could I-” 

“No” Don cut me off “Ms. I-can’t-help-but-card-count” 

“Not my fault I was born with perfect visual memory” I muttered as my father got up and headed to the kitchen. 

“Hey weren’t we playing with bottle caps?” Charlie pointed out to his father.

“Yeah or else you’d have walked away with the pink slip to my car” Alan informed. 

“You know, there is some element of chance here” Charlie explained “you know I- I may just be getting lucky.” 

“Or your just unlucky” David joked to Mike. 

“That’s funny Sinclair keep that up. It comes back to me when baseball starts” Mike countered taking a swig of his beer as dad returned and handed me a Mountain Dew as he sat down with his glass of water. 

“Baseball?” Charlie questioned “”the FBI have a team?” 

“Yeah, we got a whole league.” David explained “there’s, uh, LAPD, Sheriffs’ department” 

“D.A.’s got the killer squad” Mike commented “Now that Kraft’s in San Diego, you guys don’t have a power hitter.” 

“What about Don?” Charlie suggested. 

“It’s not my thing” Don objected 

“Oh, you play?” Mike inquired. 

“Don went to college on a baseball scholarship,” Charlie informed. “What are you talking about? You played pro second base.” 

“Single A about a million years ago” Don muttered. 

“That’s great. It means you’re this year’s ringer.” Mike grumbled. 

“Nope. I’m sorry.” Don objected quickly “not interest buddy” 

“Come on, you gotta do it” David asked hopefully as Don’s phone rang. 

“Excuse me” he murmured to us answering it. “Eppes… we’ll be right there” he declared, getting to his feet. 

I sighed and shuffled back toward the kitchen where Alan was. “Looks like I’m spending the night” I informed. 

He looked up at me confused “really? Why?” 

Just then Don popped into the doorway pulling on a jacket “hey dad I just got called in can she stay here tonight?” 

I gave my grandfather a look who sighed “yes of course” 

“Thanks” Don murmured heading out.  
______________  
**3rd POV.**

“I’ve never seen him before” Mr. Bayle declared handing Don back the photo of Salazar. 

“Are you sure?” the agent asked. 

“Yeah” the man confirmed. 

“I mean, maybe he did some work for you guys around here.” Don persisted. 

“Yeah, he could have. I wouldn’t know” Bayle explained “Lisa was in charge of all that.” 

“I’m just trying to figure out if there’s any possibility that this man knew your wife.” Don insisted as they stepped from the other man’s kitchen into his living room. 

“Why?” Bayle inquired with a shrug as he stopped to face Don. 

“You’re not going to want to hear this” Don prefaced reluctantly feeling his own spikes of failure pick at his insides while telling the man before him about this “but there are some question about Cliff Howard’s conviction” 

“The bastard said he did it” Bayle scoffed. 

“I know” Don nodded a pang on guilt stabbing him in the stomach. 

“I haven’t seen you in a year” Bayle continued “I haven’t seen you since you interrogated me for 48 hours.” 

“Sir..” Don tried to speak up but the other man continued. 

“I had to call the funeral home handcuffed to a table.” 

“I was pursuing your wife’s murder wherever it took me” Don attempted to explain his actions. “So help me..” he paused shaking his head and biting his lip and Bayle took the moment to speak again.

“Now you want to tear these wounds open again.” 

“I don’t want to do that,” Don objected adamantly. 

Both men paused to breath and Don’s eyes wandered over to the mantel where he spotted a picture he recognized he shuffled over to point at it “that’s your, uh, your daughter. What’s her name? Paula?” he asked, trying to remember. 

“Yes” Jonas answered, his voice still tense with emotion. 

“Right. May I?” Don gestured to the photo. 

“Go ahead,” Bayle allowed. Don took the photo from the mantel and looked at the young girl. “She’s a sophomore now.” 

“Yeah so is my daughter” Don admitted. 

“You have a daughter?” Jonas asked surprised. 

Don nodded “her names Abby.” he chuckled slightly think to himself how absurd it was that he suddenly had a sophomore as a daughter. Abby and Paula were the same age. If she was around a year ago would he have treated this case the same then? “yeah she came to live with me not too long ago after her mother died, car crash” 

“I’m sorry” Bayle murmured, shifting on his feet. 

Don replaced the photo and turned to face the other man. “Jonas, don’t you want to know the truth about your wife’s death?” Don was practically pleading now. 

There however was no wavering in the other man's determination “Cliff Howard is the truth,” Bayle declared.  
______________  
**Abby POV.**

“Okay tell me I’m crazy” Larry declared setting his pencil down and rubbing his face with his hands. “I think I’ve just found a way to express Calabi-Yau manifolds in a way that goes beyond the existence of a nonvanishing harmonic spinor.” 

“You're crazy,” I muttered, taking another bite of my food. 

“Ch- Charles” Larry whined when he received no response from his fellow mathematician. 

“Has he been out there all night?” Uncle C questioned turning away from the window he had been gazing out of. Watching my father play basketball. 

“Well, on the bright side it seems like Don’s taken up an interest in sports again.” Alan commented. 

Charlie sighed taking the seat next to me “it’s like the evidence proves him right and wrong at the same time” 

“Oh, yeah, the old paradox of Schroedinger’s cat.” Larry murmured. 

“Is that that persian that keeps hiding out in our garage?” Alan inquired. 

“No, that's the Myers down the street’s cat” I muttered, taking a sip of my drink. 

“It’s an intellectual exercise,” Charlie explained. 

“I knew that,” Alan lied. 

“Okay this is vastly simplified” Larry prompted “there’s a cat in a box. 50/50 chance it’s been poisoned, but now here’s the paradox: until such time as we can open the box and observe the cat, for that time, that cat is both alive and dead.” 

“Larry I-I fail to see the analogy, though.” Charlie objected “I mean, in reality Don can’t be both right and wrong at the same time.” 

“Well, of course not.” Alan chimed in “I mean, if a man is both right and wrong, then something’s gotta be wrong.” 

“Positive and a negative equal a negative?” I scoffed. 

“No. the truth of Schroedinger’s cat is that the question itself is meaningless until we look inside the box.” Larry informed. 

“So you could ask a whole different question” I voiced. 

“For a whole different result” Larry finished. Uncle Charlie immediately straightened and turned to look at the window again. Before getting up and heading outside after his brother. “Well and off he goes again to help solve the unjust of the world” 

“You can always tell when he gets an idea he spaces out then runs” I muttered. 

Larry hummed in agreement “you know you are quite insightful young enigma quite like your uncle I’m surprised you’ve yet to push ahead of your peers in academia like he so did” 

“Oh here we go” Alan muttered. 

“Well I’ve tried they won’t put me in advanced classes because I wasn’t in school consistently as a kid.” I explained. 

“Well that’s absurd a brilliant mind shouldn’t be held back by the amount of desks they haven’t sat at or lectures they’ve witnessed” Larry voiced in annoyance. 

“Preaching to the choir” I told him. 

“Yes but do me a favor and don’t get on the soap box of yours again” Gramps asked me. 

I nodded in agreement and picked at the last bits of food on my plate. “You know what?” Larry spoke up causing me and Alan to look at him but his eyes were trained on me “you should attend CalSci once you’ve escaped high school. We have no such requirements if you show the aptitude” 

“I don’t know I’m still looking at quite a bit of time being forced to look at this stuff in school let alone do I want to keep having to do school work beyond it.” I pointed out. 

“No no no” Larry objected waving his hands “it’s not like that at CalSci you can learn what you want and gain knowledge and work to gather more knowledge of the universe itself with a very hands on approach” 

I sighed finishing off my dinner and gathered my dishes. “I’ll think about it” 

“Very well” Larry accepted the answer as I stood up. 

“You done?” Alan asked. 

“Yeah” I murmured, taking my dishes into the kitchen. I glanced out the window and spotted my Uncle joining my father in his basketball playing. I loved basketball. The one sport I was decent at. As I watched my mind different back to just shortly before I went to live with my father here.  
~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~  
**_3rd POV._**

__

_“Yo Calvin” Abby looked up from where she was sitting with her back to a wall in the courtyard book in hand. A girl named Naomi was looking at her from the basketball court with the ball tucked under her arm. Other girls around her were glancing in Abby’s direction and muttering to each other. “We need a even number get over here”_

_Abby hesitated. Veronica was standing on the court eyeing her with the same hate in her eyes. However after one of her accomplices came over and whispered in her ear she nodded her agreement with the situation._

__

_Abby sighed and closed her book getting up and heading to the court. “‘ight y’all line up me and V will choose the teams,” Naomi declared._

__

__

_Abby stood in line with the seven other girls they had goated into playing with them. Veronica stuck to choosing her pals and Naomi was smart enough not to choose them but Veronica only had three friends and Abby ended up being the last one on the line as Naomi chose the girl next to her._

__

__

_“Calvin and V on the same team” one of the girls on Naomi’s team voiced “this’ll be interesting.”_

__

__

_Abby scoffed and took her position on the court. “Hey bookworm don’t get in the way” Veronica snapped._

__

__

_“Then stay out of mine” Abby shrugged. Veronica shot her a glare as the other girls jeered._

__

__

_“Hey let’s play” Naomi called everyone’s attention._

__

__

_The game started out easy. Naomi had the ball and was heading down the court. Abby intercepted her snagging the ball easily and heading down the court when she was slammed in the side hitting the ground. Veronica had the ball now and shot it into the hoop._

__

__

_“Hey!” Abby yelled getting back to her feet “thought we were on the same team”_

__

__

_“Thought I said stay out of my way” Veronica retaliated coming up to get Abby’s face._

__

__

_“Hey knock it off” Naomi pushed between the girls “either play or leave and sort your shit out the way you normally do and land in the infirmary”_

__

__

_“You telling me what to do, china?” Veronica snarled at Naomi._

__

__

_Naomi shifted back a bit “I’m actually Korean not that it matters but what I’m trying to do is play some basketball. Now you two can go duke it out if you want at least it’ll keep the teams even”_

__

__

_Veronica scoffed “whatever” she stalked back onto the court._

__

__

_Abby sighed and followed the game started up again and Abby barely touched the ball as it was passed from player to player. Until it got to a point where they had five minutes left of courtyard time and Naomi’s team was up by one._

__

__

_“We need to score. You beat Naomi at ball, that's a serious brag even with dead weights like Harp and Richards on her team” Veronica’s lacky Fiona stated._

__

__

_“Yeah well we aren’t going to if Veronica tries to score again” Abby muttered to the rest of the huddle._

__

__

_“You saying I can’t shoot Calvin?” Veronica turned to her angry._

__

__

_“No I’m saying our entire strategy has been geared to give you glory this entire time and they’ve figured that out” Abby explained “that’s why they’ve blocked our last five attempts.”_

__

__

_“What? You want us to pass it to you?” Veronica asked “that ain’t how that works Calvin”_

__

__

_“I don’t care who you pass it to” Abby shrugged “you just gotta pass it”_

__

__

_Veronica thought about it a moment “Alright Fi you take it” she declared. “Let’s go”_

__

__

_“Okay” Fiona muttered, sounding unsure._

__

__

_The game started and Naomi’s team got the ball dribbling down the court. Veronica intercepted as Abby and Fiona headed down opposite sides of the court. Veronica looked to pass it and saw Naomi guarding Fiona who was looking less than confident. Then she saw Calvin raise her hand. She was completely open. No one expected Veronica to pass the ball to the one girl she beat up every other day._

__

__

_Veronica passed the ball. Abby caught it easy and dribbled it a step before shooting it circled the hoop before dropping in to the cheers of the team._

__

__

_“Alright ladies time to get inside” one of the matron’s called from the door the girls shuffled to the door Naomi scooping the ball._

__

__

_“Nice shot Calvin” Naomi told her, shoving her shoulder as she passed._

__

__

_Abby grabbed her book and headed inside. She was heading down the hall at a casual pace before she was pinned to the wall. Veronica had her collar. “That was a one time thing you got that?”_

__

__

_Abby blinked at the other girl “really? You're so insecure about your status you have to make that point?” she asked with every ounce of sass she could muster._

__

__

_Veronica growled and threw her to the floor Abby got on her feet and shoved Veronica’s middle. The bigger girl pushed her away and soon they were grabbing at each other pulling hair and scratching. Soon someone was there to pull them apart._

__

__

_“Why do any of us expect different of those two?” Abby heard Naomi mutter to Fiona as Abby and Veronica were led to the infirmary._  
~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_  
**Abby POV.**

“Bye Uncle C” I called from the shade as the mathematician peeled off the fence of the batting cages and headed back to his car. 

“Bye Abbs” Charlie replied with a wave. I glanced over at my father as another crack of baseball on bat sounded. He was really starting to get into a rhythm, a proud smile on his face. I smiled lightly and returned to my reading. However there was only a moment of peace before Don appeared grabbing his water bottle and taking a swig.

“You want to take a few whacks?” He asked, gesturing to the batting cage. 

I shot another look over at the ball spitter. “Uh no thanks I’ve never really..” I trailed off gesturing at the cage with an implied statement and apathetic wave. 

Don looked at the cage then back at me with a small amount of shock evident in his face. “You’ve never played baseball before?” He asked in disbelief. 

“Maybe once in gym class” I shrugged answering honestly. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed Donald but I’m kinda on the nerd side of things” 

Don scoffed. “Come on” he grabbed my book and much to my relief remembered to put the bookmark in its place before closing it. “No daughter of mine is going to go through life without playing baseball”

I scoffed as I was pulled to my feet and given a helmet. I would normally put up a bit more of a fight but I knew that this sport meant a lot to him. So I kept my remarks to myself and went along with it. We headed out to the cage. He showed me what position to take. How to hold the bat properly and watch the ball. 

Even with his coaching it took awhile before I actually hit the ball. When I did it was quite auspicious to us both. Despite it not going anywhere near where we wanted it to go. There was a lot of laughing and joking and we both left happy reliving the events in story with some subtle elaborations. Don excited to take me back some time.


	9. Wormholes

“Apparently there’s large performance differentials between same caliber bullets from different manufacturers” Amita told Charlie walking over to him with a piece of paper with the information. 

“Based on what?” Uncle C questioned looking the paper over. 

“Lead composition, gunpowder packing” Amita shrugged sitting back down in her seat. 

“Just what I need more variables” Charlie muttered. 

“I could help you run through the equations if you want” I offered leaning forward on the couch. 

“No you’re not helping” Charlie objected turning back to his chalkboard “if Don even found out you were in here we’d both be in trouble” 

I rolled my eyes and turned back to my book. Just then there was a knock at the door to the solarium and Larry meandered in. “oh, some assistance in my brazen attack on the Lorenz invariance?” 

“No, drag coefficient models” Charlie informed. 

“Drag co- drag on what?” Larry questioned. 

Walking from Charlie to Amita “bullets” the woman answered. 

“Bullets as in ballistic trajectories defined by the Einstein Equivalence Principle, related to the Lorenz frame?” Larry questioned over her shoulder pointedly. 

“As in, bullets that kill people” Amita replied. 

“Oh” Larry muttered with slight disgust in his voice as he turned to join me sitting on the couch. 

“There seems to be some disagreements over the sniper’s expertise” Amita explained looking to Charlie. 

“Well, I’d say the public’s decided on the question.” Larry explained “I have an aunt who lives two blocks from the first shooting. She’s afraid to go out on her front lawn now.” he gestured out the window. 

“Why don’t you tell your aunt that statistically she has a better chance of being mauled by a bear” Charlie explained exasperatedly. 

“Actually, statistics would favor the bear being mauled by my aunt but…” Larry joked and we all shared a small laugh. “This fear, this extends beyond the reach of statistics Charles.” Larry explained sinking into the couch. “No this is about arbitrary inescapable death. No, times like these, you just wind up speculating on paths not taken, jobs left undone.” 

“Larry I- I’m trying to get those equations done for you as soon as I can,” Charlie defended. 

“No, no, no.” Larry objected sitting up “at that moment, I was actually thinking of a far more prosaic legacy. Someone to carry on the Fleinhardt standard” 

We all looked at the physicist in surprise. “I didn’t know you wanted kids, Larry” Charlie voiced. 

“Well children are wormholes” Larry declared. 

“Wormholes?” Amita questioned. 

“As the only minor in the room can I protest that classification?” I asked the man who sat next to fiddling with a small bowl “or at least get an explanation?” 

“Yeah. they’re portals into the unreachable future and unattainable past.” he somewhat clarified “No, as things stand now they exist only in the theoretical realm so..” 

“Well, I can see where you might have some trouble selling a woman on the idea of carrying you wormhole” Amita stated and we all chuckled again.  
____________  
There’s isn’t anything quite as annoying as sitting at the kitchen table trying to get a look at the work your Uncle is doing for the FBI that you know you can help with but aren’t allowed to. This is where I was as I sat at the dining table Charlie working and Larry getting himself another cup of coffee. 

“You know,” the physicist spoke up from the kitchen, “I have had almost no attendance at my morning classes. It’s like everyone’s afraid to set foot outside” 

“Not everybody” Charlie objected as Larry came in and sat a cup of water down for the mathematician. 

“Just the general populous” I commented. 

“Yeah. In times like these, an empty house is not a home” Larry said taking a seat at the table. “Evaluating my immediate prospects for a conventional nuclear family, I’ve just now begun to consider adoption.” 

“How long have you been considering it?” Charlie inquired. 

“Three days” Larry offered. 

“Give it a few more days.” Charlie advised. 

“Yeah” Larry agreed “but consider Don. He had no prior notion or plan for raising a young adult and yet here he is doing just fine.” 

“That would convey the notion that my father is doing more than just monitoring me and providing me sustenance” I muttered. 

“I suppose there is something to be said about a mentoring learning curve” Larry murmured. Then looked at Charlie’s work “so what? You found a pattern yet?” 

“More like a pattern of patternlessness.” Charlie informed. 

“Is patternlessness even a word?” I asked. 

“Well it is now” Charlie stated. 

“Hey, there’s an interesting metaphysical notion.” Larry voiced. 

“What whether patternlessness is a word?” I asked. 

“No the interesting part it plays in this case.” Larry explained “perhaps a human element remains to be inserted” 

Charlie groaned in annoyance. “You sound like this, uh, Agent Edgerton guy. He’s a sniper instructor that Don brought in from Quantico he thinks I should be out shooting rifles.” 

“Well, why aren’t you?” Larry inquired. 

“That would be cool” I agreed. 

“It’s a poor allocation of my time” Charlie objected “in the time it takes to shoot X number of rifles, I can access ten or twenty or a hundred times that amount of data” 

“No, no, no, no. there’s data and there’s hands-on experience” Larry pointed out. “These are two different beasts. That’s why you’ve got blackboards and laboratories.” 

“Well you study the universe, and you’ve never been to outer space.” Charlie countered. 

“Yeah, but if I had the opportunity, do you think for a moment I’d hesitate?” Larry said. 

Charlie sighed. “I think it’d be cool to shoot a rifle,” I voiced. 

Charlie gave me a look “you know It’s those kinds of statements that make Don worried about you”  
___________  
“Why’d I have to come along?” I muttered. 

“Because if you hung around Larry and Charlie any longer you’d end up helping them on this crazy case and we both know it” Alan stated as we got on the elevator in the FBI office. 

“So your solution is to bring me to the heart of where the case is being handled.” I pointed out. 

“Point made but this is the side of it you definitely can’t help on” Alan commented. I nodded in agreement getting the point. 

The elevator opened and Don greeted us. “Hey guys” he smiled. 

“Hey Donnie” Alan smiled as we headed out of the elevator and into the FBI office. I’d never been here before and it was a cool place. People were all over the place in cubicles. There were meeting rooms with glass walls and doors and on one side a tall stack of file boxes. 

“Thanks for bringing lunch all the way down here.” Don told us as he led us through the office “Come on, this way.” 

“Oh well, you know, the drive was a pleasure.” Gramps explained. “Traffic on the 10 has never been thinner since, uh, well, since it’s been the 10” 

“Yeah, it’s like all LA’s in lockdown, huh? Little eerie” Don commented. “Right in here” we were ushered into a little break room. Alan sat the bag of food on the table and started setting things out. “You guys want a water?” Don asked, leaning by a mini fridge. 

“Yes please” Alan said politely. 

“Sure” I shrugged watching the people through the glass. 

Don set out three waters before taking his seat at the table. Alan got up to grab some napkins. “Hey kid, why don’t you sit down” Don suggested. 

“Yeah” I agreed, coming over and sitting across from him where Alan had put my sandwich. “Everyone’s really busy out there huh?” 

“Yeah sniper’s a big case and it’s not the only one we have open right now so a lot going on” Don explained as Alan came back over. 

“So, how, uh, how are you and Charlie managing this case?” the elderly man asked. 

“Well, I mean, he’s frustrated; I’m frustrated.” Don shook his head raising his sandwich up to his face “I mean, we’re having a rough time on this” 

“Is that why he’s been running out of the house late at night?” Alan inquired as we ate. 

Don nodded “we got an agent on him all the time” he assured. 

“I mean, I know he’s been helping you out and that he comes down to your office a lot, and I- I think that’s great. But, but now you got him going out on crime scenes.” Alan explained “I mean, there's this guy shooting people out there.”

Don made a face and I could see the argument coming. I quickly spoke up to leave the room “uh where’s the bathroom here?” 

Don look to me “uh out down the hall to the left and then take a right” he gestured. 

“Thanks” I replied, getting up and shuffling out of the room. Glancing back I could see the conversation continuing in my absence. Don and Alan had a strong relationship this I could tell from the beginning. However, Alan was always worried about his sons especially on the FBI side of things. It was a worry I never fully understood but then again this was my first time with male role models so maybe it was just a guy thing to constantly worry about what you can’t control.  
___________________  
**3rd POV.**

Once Abby had left the room Don turned back to his father “Dad. you really think I would put Charlie in danger?” 

“No” Alan objected “you know what I really think?” 

“What?” 

“I think you have to understand that Charlie can never say no to you,” Alan explained. Don let out an exasperated breath putting down his sandwich “I mean, I mean. All you have to do is to ask him something and he’s there for you.” 

“Yeah, and I’m there for him.” Don insisted. 

Alan sighed “look, he’s not a cop. Now, come on, I mean, he’s better off with chalk in his hand than a gun.” 

“You know, you got to stop this; he is a grown man, and he’s capable of-” 

“Who still seeks the approval of his older brother” Alan cut Don off. “Whether his older brother likes it or not. And- and more than that Abby, Abby is just like him I had to bring her out here with me just to keep her from trying to help anymore on this sniper math of his.” 

“Abby’s fine alright” Don objected “she just needs to learn to leave that stuff alone” 

“Yeah, and who’s job is it to teach her?” Alan pointed out. 

Don sighed and was about to reply when his phone went off he pulled it out to answer, muttering an excuse me. Meanwhile Abby returned hesitantly but determined the argument was over as she saw her father on the phone. 

“Gotta go” the agent declared gathering his food and getting to his feet “another shooting” 

“Oh my god” Alan muttered. 

“Yeah, I promise I won’t call Charlie till we roll the tanks out.” Don stated stopping in the doorway. “And I want you two to stay here until I call you, okay?” Alan nodded in understanding “all right, thanks for the sandwich” 

With that Don was heading off into the bullpen. “I barely got to say two words to him” Abby muttered, sitting down with her food. 

“Well, I suppose when duty calls” Alan sighed, turning and watching his granddaughter eat.  
__________________  
**Abby POV.**

I left off a loud sigh as Larry and my grandfather began their chess game. “Come on Abby, you like chess,” Alan said. 

“I like playing chess, not watching it” I replied turning the page of my book. 

“Well how about you play winner” Gramps suggested and I shrugged in reply. “And would you mind sitting like a normal person we are in public” I raised my hands in an annoyed gesture as I sat sideways in my chair, my legs dangling over the arms rest of one side. Alan gave me a stern look and I sighed shifting in my seat. “Thank you”

“Yeah, yeah” I sighed slouching in my chair and turning another page of my book. 

“Oh. the Ruy Lopez opening” Alan commented on Larry’s move. “I see I’m dealing with a classicist here.” 

“Look, I warned you I was a little rusty” Larry pointed out with a slight laugh to his voice. “My game is also a little undeveloped.” 

“You know I had to stop playing with Charlie when he was eight years old.” Alan explained. 

“Yeah, more precociousness in the biography of professor Charles Eppes.” Larry sighed “yeah you know, among mathematicians, isn’t that just such a cliche, the playing chess?” 

“I didn’t mind losing” Alan explained leaning forward in his seat “it was that bored expression on his face, like he was playing out of courtesy. That’s what got to me” 

“That’s why I keep my poker face up when I challenge you” I muttered, not looking up from my book. “It’s just common courtesy” 

“Oh is that so?” Alan asked and I could hear the amusement in his tone as I smirked. “Perhaps you should remember who your ride home is then” we both chuckled lightly amused. 

“Oh yeah? Well, try Scrabble” Larry suggested ignoring my and my grandfather’s banter. “He’s a horrible speller” 

“Really?” Alan inquired. 

“Oh, he’s horrible,” Larry insisted. 

“I didn’t know that” Gramps sighed leaning back in his chair again. “You know quite a bit about my son.” 

“I don’t know” Larry murmured “I know he’s been a delight. You know, observing him all these years. You know, a star pupil’s ascension to such extraordinary heights I mean, yeah, that’s perhaps the most rewarding aspect of being a teacher.” 

“Come one, we both know you’ve been a lot more than just a teacher to Charlie” Alan pointed out. 

I glanced up to see a small smile grace Larry’s features “well, thank you for saying that.” 

I caught sight of the board and scoffed turning back to my book as Alan spoke again moving one of his bishop “oh, by the way, uh you’re now in check” 

“Oh you distracted me” Larry exclaimed sitting up as Alan chuckled to himself. 

“Smooth Larry” I murmured.  
___________  
“Here I found a tarp” I called tossing the bundled fabric at my uncle. 

“I just didn’t think that I was in immediate danger until I was” Uncle Charlie continued to explain the story I had coaxed out of him when he came back minorly distressed from the scene where the serial sniper was stopped. 

“Well yeah no one expects to die when their life has never been threatened before. Unless their paranoid” I muttered. 

“You seem far more calm with this then I would think” Charlie muttered as I climbed down the step ladder and we went to go outside. 

“Well I have experience around guns” I mumbled as we stepped back into the yard and was grateful to see my father there to draw away Charlie’s attention. 

“You told him?” Charlie asked. 

“Yeah about the gun range” Don muttered with a pointed look “that you shot a rifle. He shot a rifle, did a great job” Don rambled slightly. 

“I fired the rifle” Charlie parroted. 

“Yeah, see i’m perfectly fine” Alan pointed out, wiping his hands with a rag “I didn’t fall off the ladder, I didn’t collapse. I certainly hope you got that out of your system now.” he muttered the last line at his youngest. 

“Definitely” Charlie agreed. 

I scoffed slightly and struggled to suppress my laughter at knowing the full knowledge of what happened as Gramps went to talk to Don about the stain they were putting on the house. Uncle C gave me a slight shove at my poorly suppressed amusement and I bent to help him spread the tarps.


	10. Influence

I slammed the door as I came trudging in from the backyard. My grandfather looked up at me from where he was leaning on the counter. 

“In a mood are we?” he asked. 

“I’ve just been banished from the garage by Charlie and Larry,” I explained grumpily. “Apparently their working on something I can’t see but my book is in there somewhere” 

“Somewhere?” Alan questioned “don’t you remember where you put it” 

“I remember where I put it but it has evidently been moved in the course of their work” I informed. 

Alan sighed and straightened up “well come on I’m sure I can negotiate for its rescue” 

I smiled slightly “thank you” 

He led the way out into the backyard and over to the garage. “Charlie you in there?” Alan called as we approached the door then he looked around the door frame “hey your niece needs her book that you two moved around in here” he explained. 

“Alright” Charlie sighed “she can look but I don’t want her messing with any of this” he gestured vaguely at the chalkboards and papers he had spread about. 

“Wouldn’t dream of it” I muttered looking around for my book. 

“What are you two geniuses into now?” Alan asked, looking at the work. “And what are my old city planning maps doing out like this? What’s happening?” 

“To me it looks like their working in probabilities passed off the variables and labels I’d say some kind of public location” I informed looking behind on the chalkboards. 

“Abby what did I say?” Charlie snapped uncharacteristically. 

“Jeez I was just looking not messing” I stated in defense. 

Uncle C sighed looking exceptionally stressed “no one’s really supposed to know.” 

“Charles, perhaps it would be best to inform your father and the enigma of the impending Armageddon.” Larry objected. 

“Armageddon?” Alan questioned as Charlie muttered words of anger to his friend “No, don’t tell me you two spotted another one of those asteroids hurtling towards the Earth, huh?” 

Alan was joking but my stomach began to churn as I took a closer look at the math. All the locations were big public areas. Soft targets. 

“Several thousand, actually, but that Armageddon we have decades to resolve” Larry objected to my grandfather’s statement. 

“Charlie what is he talking about?” Alan questioned with a chuckle. 

Charlie was about to brush his father off when he was cut off by the high pitched exclamation of his best friend “a truck carrying nuclear waste was hijacked. Yesterday.” 

“What?” Alan questioned. 

That was when all the pieces clicked in my mind “wait so the locations you’re narrowing down their possible targets aren’t they?” I asked in shock. “My God” 

“Now wait a minute” Gramps spoke up “why didn’t I hear anything about this on the news?” 

“Because they’re not telling anyone” Charlie muttered with a pointed glare at Larry. 

“What do you mean they’re not telling anyone?” Alan asked with slightly irritation edging his words. “How the hell are people supposed to protect themselves? And what does she mean about targets?” 

“In the first place, uh, we- we’re not even sure that there, that there is a bomb, so-” 

“A bomb?!” Alan cut his son off. 

“Well, we don’t know where it’s going to go off.” Charlie advised. 

“Well, maybe not. But I would suggest that, uh, people quickly taking a ride out of town in an easterly direction might be of help right now.” Alan stated. 

“Well, possibly not, with these current wind conditions.” Larry mused. 

“Look, an evacuation without information will lead to mass public panic.” Charlie pointed out. 

“Well, speaking for the huddled masses, I’d rather not have some government official making that decision for me right now, thank you very much” Alan declared, picking up one of his maps off the table which revealed my book underneath. “And what are you doing with my maps?” 

“You really are something, you know that?” Charlie snapped at Larry. The two began to bicker as I stepped forward to grab my book. Then Larry finally got a word in edgewise with a sharp point. 

“He is a planner and she a budding mathematician” 

Charlie turned to his dad who was looking at the maps and realization seemed to dawn on him. “You know what, Dad?” he called “you can help us.” 

“How can I help you?” Alan questioned. “Charlie, I’m not a physicist and I’m certainly not an expert on nuclear contamination.” 

“But you were a city planner” Uncle C pointed out walking over to the man “you know about urban density, and these are your maps.”

“And another person to run equations would be quite helpful” Larry added looking to me. I picked up my book with a sigh. 

“I wanted to help. Now I wish I didn’t need to” I muttered Larry just nodded in understanding. 

We continued to look over the maps and crunch numbers Charlie and Larry guiding me through some of the more complex calculations. Then Charlie's phone rang. “Hey Don” we all turned to him surprised. “Well don’t we have-” a glance at his watch “-six hours… they pushed it-” he turned to those of us in the room “Ah, he needs to know now.” I looked to the boards raising my hands to my head in complete panic. There was no way to be sure, multiple possibilities. 

“Well, we still have algorithms to test and variables to explore here” Larry objected. 

“Okay, um… okay, we’ve pinpointed seven likely targets” Charlie spoke into the phone “there’s one in Westwood, there’s two in Century City.” Charlie paused as I presume Don spoke to him on the phone “Downtown. Okay. He needs downtown so,” we all eyed the map pointing out the two possible targets. “Okay, there’s, there’s, there’s two. One in Driscoll Plaza and another in Angeles Square.” Charlie looked at us after seconds of tension “he needs one just one, one of them” Charlie murmured. 

“Statistically, they’re both of nearly equal probability,” Larry explained. 

“Math can’t tell us which one” I breathed out. 

“Right. Mathematically, we have no justification for choosing one over the other” Charlie explained just as Alan reached over and grabbed the phone away from his son. 

“Donnie, go with Angeles Square.” The man declared into the phone “I know what Charlie says, but I know these maps, and I would choose Angeles Square. It’s the height of the buildings. It creates what we used to call an urban canyon. The air currents through the buildings spread the radiation much further. If I wanted to inflict as much damage as I could, that’s where I would go. Angeles Square. I’m telling you.” Alan pulled the phone from his ear. 

“Great now we just sit and hope” I muttered leaning on the table. Releasing the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.  
_______  
“Well we didn’t do so bad today, did we?” Alan asked, coming over to the table a bit more chipper than any of us. 

“No, today, was good.” Larry voiced. “But what about tomorrow?” 

“Yeah and Don was still very close to a bomb that could have had nuclear material so” I shrugged picking at the frayed end of the ripped knee of my pants as they were pulled up to my chest. 

“Yeah, uh, you know I think I understand why you like helping Don so much.” Alan said “it’s not a bad feeling” he paused. Me, Gramps, Larry exchanged looks as the curly haired young mathematician in the room stayed uncharacteristically quiet. “What’s the matter, Charlie? You’ve got that look that you get when you can’t stop worrying about something” 

“He’s right. You seem a little perturbed” Larry agreed. 

“You’re still not mad about my pulling that phone out of your hand, are you?” Alan questioned. 

“I was going to say Driscoll Plaza,” Charlie admitted. “Before you grabbed the phone out of my hand I was- I was about to say Driscoll Plaza, and I would’ve been wrong.” 

“Oh” Alan murmured around the bite of food in his mouth “well, come on, Charlie. I was the one that didn’t give you the right variables. You know, the heights of the buildings.” Alan reassured. “Listen, if you’ve got one failing, it’s only that you don’t think like a criminal. Of course, what does that say about me?” he chuckled slightly 

“That you’re a great influence” I replied sarcastically. 

“I would’ve been wrong” Charlie murmured again.  
__________  
**3rd POV.**

Don pulled up outside his brother’s house and hopped out of his car. His pace only slowed slightly when he saw Abby sitting on the porch reading. She looked up at him. 

“Did you catch ‘em?” she asked. 

“Got the guys not the cesium” he replied grabbing the door knob then paused. “Wait how did you..?” she bit her lip and glanced toward inside “ah damn it Charlie” 

“It wasn’t his fault. Blame Larry’s fear and my nosiness if anything” she objected. 

“So if Dad was helping I’m guessing you were as well then?” Don inquired and she nodded. He growled “Abby you can’t do that and if I wasn’t in a hurry you’d be getting an earful right now alright.” he flung the door open and headed inside Abby hurrying behind him. 

He stalked over to where Charlie and Larry were seated at the table “alright we have the guys but they aren’t telling us where the caesium is we think it’s still on the truck and in our perimeter but we have no idea where they stashed it.” he quickly briefed them on the situation. 

“Larry and I have been doing some research on tracking radiation signatures.” Charlie replied as Abby took a seat at the table “now between the sense that scan from planes and those you could install at random points in the area, we would be able to triangulate a location for that radioactive material.” 

“All right, well, that’s great” Don felt some of the anxious energy he had been feeling coming in here ease away. “How long would it take?” it started coming back as the three geniuses in the room all shifted in their seats. 

“Like a.. Like a week.” Charlie replied “or maybe two.” 

“A week? Charlie, the truck is leaking radiation, you understand?” Don said insistently. 

“He’s right, Charles.” Larry spoke up “I mean, these casks were not designed to contain cesium for extended periods of time. This material in particular has an insidious method of attack.” 

“Which is?” Don prompted sitting down next to his daughter. 

“Look, even in small amounts, whether ingested or inhaled,” Larry began to explain they spread throughout the entire body, they invade and destroy the soft tissue. Longer exposure and we’re talking acute radiation poisoning; the Walking Ghost phase.” 

“That sounds bad,” Abby muttered almost to herself. 

“The Walking Ghost phase?” Don questioned that tension within him building again. 

“Yes, like the people in Chernobyl. Somebody starts feeling nauseous, they vomit, they start feeling better, they think they are better. But no, it’s- it’s just a grace period. A week later, it’s internal bleeding and certain death.” 

Charlie let off a breath leaning back in his chair and Abby brought her knees up to her chest in her seat. “You said you have the guys that stole the truck, right?” Charlie asked, getting to his feet. 

“That’s right,” Don agreed. 

“They don’t know where it is?” the mathematician questioned. 

“Well, Charlie, they’re not talking.” Don explained. 

“None of them?” 

“No. they’re trying to use the truck as leverage if anything” Don told them. 

“They had a plan going in.” Charlie determined. 

“We got ‘em separated. We’re trying to play them against each other, but” Don sighed dread creeping into his gut. 

“What about putting them together?” Charlie suggested. 

“No, Charlie.” Don objected “you keep suspects isolated in the dark. That’s how it works” 

“I understand that.” Charlie clarified “that, that’s not what I’m speaking about. I’m actually talking about something completely different. I’m talking about something called The Prisoner’s Dilemma” 

Abby straightened behind Don and Larry nodded “game theory” 

“Game theory” Charlie parroted his friend and continued “the mathematics of decision making. How to achieve the optimal outcome from a complex situation. So for instance, um” the man thought up an analogy “say two people were to commit crime. Now, if neither of them talk they each get a year. If one of them talks, he gets no time at all, and the other guy gets five years. If both of them talk, they each get two years. So you see, unless they can trust each other not to say anything talking is the best strategy” 

“Yeah, but I already told you they’re not talking” Don pointed out. 

“Well, maybe that’s because none of them realize how much the others have to lose.” Charlie advised. 

“Risk assessment” Abby muttered.

Charlie smirked slightly at his niece's insight “precisely.”  
_________  
“I mean it was pretty impressive” Don voiced as he and his family left the restaurant. “These are three hardcore dudes, and Charlie’s up there scibbling all these crazy equations” 

“Crazy equa..? You hear that, Dad?” Charlie muttered as Abby started to giggle “Crazy equations. Now, I did a risk assessment analysis based on a model used to determine a bank’s exposure to mutual credit obligations. That’s what I did.” 

“Yeah, it’s a compliment. I mean, the point is, is that they bought it.” Don explained. 

“Don’s right. I mean the important thing is you’re getting the truck back. Isn’t that enough?” Alan pointed out. 

“Yeah, I mean, you know, you can get an award for a performance like that” Don congratulated. 

“A per..? It wasn’t a performance” Charlie objected. “It wasn’t a scam. That was math. That was actual math. I don’t make this stuff up.” 

“Want to hear about math?” Alan chimed in reach into his jacket pocket “here, here’s math. Dinner was $102 divided four ways is 25 bucks apiece. Pay up.” 

“Wait I’m a minor dependant I don’t have money he does” Abby objected pointing at her father who pulled out his wallet. 

“Actually I gotta hit an ATM. I don’t have any cash” Don replied. 

“Now that’s a scam” Alan complained and the men descended into bickering as Abby laughed. 

“Hey keep laughing and I will make you pay your share” Don threatened. “Especially since I’m considering grounding you” 

“What?” Abby questioned her laughter quickly fading. 

“I told you I didn’t want you helping on cases math or not and you didn’t listen” Don replied firmly even though the expression on Abby’s face was beginning to weaken his resolve. 

“But I was helpful I didn’t get hurt there was no way for me to get hurt” Abby defended “what’s so wrong with crunching a few numbers in the garage every now and then” 

Don sighed biting his lip “because your sixteen and I don’t want you getting dragged head first into my world of guns and destruction” 

Abby looked to the ground and opened her mouth. Don got the feeling she was about to say something poignant but she hesitated and instead closed her mouth looking back up at her father with a determination that caught him rather off guard. 

“Fine I’ll stop whining about working on big stuff for now but once I’m eighteen I’m getting my clearance and you can’t stop me” she declared. 

Alan and Charlie both smiled slightly at the girl's stubborn statement. Don sighed knowing there was no way he was changing her mind. So instead he hooked her around the shoulders pulling her into his side as the family continued down the sidewalk “alright kid but right now you’re still grounded.”


	11. Predictions

My foot tapped repeatedly as I sat in a chair outside the principal's office. I had no idea why I had been called out of my english class to be here. Not that I was complaining about being taken out of a monotonous lecture on adjectives and adverbs. 

“Hey Abby” I looked up as the door opened and Mrs. Clive was there looking down at me. “Come on in” 

I grabbed my backpack and walked into the office, Clive closing the door behind me. Principal Brick was sitting behind his desk. I always thought his name fit his features with how square his head was. 

“Take a seat Abby” he offered I nodded and sat down. Clive took the seat next to me. “I’ve heard a lot about you Ms. Calvin from Mrs. Clive here as well as your other teachers. Many of whom are concerned about certain behavioral issues you’ve shown since joining us here.” 

“If this is about that fight in the cafeteria I thought we had that sorted out I mean I didn’t cause it” I quickly defended myself sitting up in my seat. 

“We know Abby, that's not what we’re talking about” Clive reassured me. 

“Then what is it?” I asked, growing suspicious. 

Brick sat forward resting his hands on his desk. “To be completely honest with you Abby, originally we were lead to believe by your social worker a Mr. Grant that your behavioral problems would be expected considering your history with the foster system and problematic past parent situation.” I shifted in my seat “however, Mrs. Clive has brought a different perspective onto the situation”

My head snapped to look at the teacher. She had a light smile on her face “I got into contact with a friend of mine Michelle Wiat she’s a principal at an elementary school it turned out you attended. She told me about the advanced courses she put you in College Algebra, Calculus. As well as your IQ testing she provided all the documentation as well” 

There was moment where my brain was flustered hearing Ms. Wiat’s name again after so long. Then I finally collected my thoughts “so what does this mean? Are you finally putting me in advanced courses?” 

“No exactly” Brick objected “we believe at this time that this school can no longer provide what you need to learn” 

“In other words we know you’re not thriving here” Clive cut in “so I’ve arranged here with Mr. Brick for you to possibly test out of high school” 

I was stunned at the news but felt excitement bubbling within me “serious like no more school?” 

“Part of it will require you to continue your education somewhere else such as college, university, or career center but you will no longer be attending high school” Brick explained. 

“This is awesome” I cheered excitedly. 

“Don’t get too excited you’ll have to take a test to prove you’re capable and that’s only if your father approves all of this” Clive clarified. 

I felt my excitement hit a wall “my father?” 

“Yes we’ll be sending you home today with a note detailing everything and asking for a parent teacher conference to discuss any other issues that may come of this” Brick informed “since you are still a minor you can’t just make these decisions on your own” 

“Right” I murmured as Brick handed me a letter. 

“Don’t worry Abby this will all work out and then we’ll get to see what heights you’ll truly be able to reach” Clive reassured me with a hand on my shoulder. As I looked at the paper I didn’t feel as sure.  
_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~  
**_3rd POV._**

__

__

_Abby sat out in the hallway at school. She was reading Twelve Years a Slave. The nine year old had been kicked out of her 4th grade class for calling another kid an asshole after he broke her pencils._

__

__

_“Abigail” she looked up at the familiar disappointed voice of the principal._

__

__

_“Hello” the girl greeted. “Call me Abby”_

__

__

_The principal, Mrs. Wiat, sighed and sat down next to the girl. “Whatcha reading?”_

__

__

_“Twelve Years a Slave” Abby replied, showing the teacher the book cover._

__

__

_“Advanced book for someone your age” The principal voiced genuinely surprised._

__

_“It’s a good read but I feel bad for Solomon. He just wants to escape his captivity.” Abby voiced “he didn’t ask for any of his problems he just got dragged into it”_

__

__

_“Do you relate to him?” The woman pressed sensing something._

__

__

_Abby shrugged and didn’t make eye contact. “Maybe a little”_

__

__

_“Abby, you know calling people mean things is wrong” The principal explained._

__

__

_“But he broke my pencils,” the girl defended._

__

__

_“I understand but lashing out isn’t the answer” Mrs. Wiat kept her voice even as she spoke. “Abby, you've been fighting with other kids and not doing your homework. Is there something going on at home? Something you want to tell me?”_

__

__

_The girl shook her head quickly “no nothing”_

__

__

_“Okay” the principal nodded. “Then why don’t you do your homework?”_

__

__

_“Because isn’t the point of homework to practice the stuff you learn in class?” The fourth grader asked._

__

__

_“That’s right” the principal nodded. “Which is why you need to do it to learn.”_

__

__

_“But I already know the stuff” Abby objected. “I mean I get perfect scores on the tests so why do I have to do the homework?”_

__

__

_The principal found herself speechless at the fourth graders logic. “Because it factors into your grade”_

__

__

_“Well what's more important in school for me to learn or for me to get good grades?” The girl challenged._

__

__

_“Abby” the principal sighed. Then a thought came to her “I want to send a note home with you for your mother” the principal explained “I want to talk to her and get you in a more advanced program at least for your reading level maybe math also”_

__

__

_“Does this program have homework?” Abby questioned._

__

__

_The principal chuckled lightly “Unfortunately Abby all of life has homework.”_  
~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~  
**Abby POV.**

“What you think he’ll say no?” Charlie asked as he moved some papers around on the table. 

“I don’t know what he’s going to say,” I exclaimed, my chin resting on the table the note from my teachers in my hands. “That’s the part that bothers me.” 

“Well then I suppose the only way to resolve that would be to ask him” Charlie argued. I let out a breath in a huff. “Listen Abby, you've been arguing to learn more advanced curriculum since you got here and I’d wager even before then this is a great chance for you. I’m sure Don will see that and let you test out okay?” 

“Yeah” I murmured. “Don’t tell about this though I want to be the first one to talk to him” 

“My lips are sealed” the mathematician vowed as he typed on his laptop. 

A moment later Alan came in from the kitchen and I folded the note and stuffed it in my pocket. “Hey,” he greeted “Charlie whatcha working on there?” 

“Sabermetrics” Uncle C replied with a sigh “baseball math found on a dead man’s computer Don’s having me look at it for a case” 

“Oh” Alan murmured a little put off from the dead man fact. He walked up behind Charlie peering over his shoulder “What do these formulas tell you?” 

“The ones I’ve recovered indicate that the Dodgers are not on the right track to win the pennant next year” Charlie informed. 

“Like you needed math to figure that one out, huh?” Gramps muttered. 

Charlie chuckled “no” 

“I heard that, uh, Don was leaning towards the wife.” Alan voiced. 

“That’s right,” Charlie confirmed. 

“Seems to be the first place they look nowadays” Alan mused. 

“I don’t understand” Charlie agreed “I mean, if you hate the person you’re married to that much, get divorced.” 

“Even the thought of divorce holds its own special horrors, let me tell you” Alan sighed. 

“Well, you and mom never thought about- I mean, I was never witness to any kind of-” Charlie stammered as his father leaned on a chair. 

“That’s exactly the way we wanted it.” Alan explained. Charlie shifted in his chair, eyes still fixed on Alan urging him to continue “well, it was a long time ago, we, um. We had a little rough patch there for a moment, but we got through it.” 

Charlie closed his laptop slowly and I looked between the two men wondering where this conversation was going “how rough a patch are we talking about?” Uncle C questioned. 

“It was when you were 13 years old,” Alan offered willingly “and you went off to Princeton.” 

“Mom came with me” Charlie added. 

“The separation was pretty hard on both of us” Alan admitted “and aside from the money matters, there was this irrational jealousy. Anyway, even the possibility of divorce was never discussed, because we loved each other too much.” 

“I don’t remember any of it,” Charlie murmured. “I don’t even remember a raised voice between the two of you.” 

“That’s because your mother and I both agreed that we wouldn’t stress you or Don any more than we had to.” Alan explained sitting down. “Charlie that’s how parents argue in front of their children; they disguise the big things as little things.” 

Charlie was quiet for a moment looking at his work. I stood up and made to leave the room a churning feeling in my gut. “Abby you alright?” Alan called after me. 

“Yeah, yeah fine I just, homework” I lied horribly but Gramps didn’t seem to be questioning it and I didn’t really give him time to before I was bolting up the stairs. 

I collapsed on the bed in Don’s old room. Charlie going to college early had put a huge strain on his parents' lives. What kind of strain would I be putting on Don if I graduated early? In all my nagging why hadn’t I considered how this would affect Don. After everything my mom went through and sacrificed for me growing up was I really going to make my other parent sacrifice for me too? Let alone one I’d only known for less than a year? 

I groaned and grabbed the pillow covering my face. When did my life get so complicated?  
_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_  
**_3rd POV._**

_Abby sat bored in yet another class at school. She glanced at the clock and sighed. Wondering how difficult it would be to slip out a side door during a passing block. The public library wasn’t too far from the school and it would be open at this time._

__

__

_Then her mom's words came back to her. Make friends. Try to be social. She glanced around the class all of whom were still working on the algebra assignment she had already finished. How was she going to become friends with any of them. Most of them were upper middle class with well to do parents. Nice clothes, new backpacks, and cell phones. Abby wore thrift store clothes, had an old backpack that had seen better days, and never had a cell phone in her life._

__

__

_The bell rang jogging her from her thoughts. Gathering her things Abby headed out into the hallway. Going to the freshman lockers to ditch her stuff from algebra and grab her English stuff._

__

__

_They were reading “Of Mice and Men” which she had already read years prior. She remembered every word and had told her teacher as much but the woman had still insisted that Abby bring her copy to class everyday. Despite the obvious redundancy._

__

__

_“Hey gutter kid” Abby heard the call and turned just in time to get hit in the face by someone’s backpack. “Oops looks like Miss smarty pants isn’t much of a quick thinker.”_

__

__

_Abby recovered quickly and looked to see who had thrown the bag. She wasn’t surprised to see a gaggle of laughing popular kids not far off. She looked down at the back pack and reared punting it down the hall._

__

__

_She smirked broadly as one of the kids ducked and another got a face full as she had._

__

__

_“Why you little” One of the kids came at her, pinning her to the locker. She kicked out on reflex and before she knew it a fight had broken out in the hallway._

__

__

_When a teacher finally showed up and pulled them apart. Abby was shocked that he first turned to the kid who had started it._

__

__

_“What happened?” the teacher asked them._

__

__

_“She attacked me-“_

__

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_“I did not you liar!” Abby objected loudly._

__

__

_“You be quiet” The teacher ordered her._

__

__

_“But I didn’t-“_

__

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_“Come on I’m taking you to the office now” the teacher ordered. He grabbed Abby’s arm and led her down the hallway._

__

__

_Not long after she was sitting outside the principal's office. She could hear everything going on inside._

__

__

_“She has a history of ditching” the teacher, Mr. Simons, was saying. “And now she’s picking fights.”_

__

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_“Abby skips because she isn’t learning anything in her classes if you put her in the advanced class-“_

__

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_“That girl shouldn’t even be in regular classes” Simons objected. “And don’t act like she’s some genius from the look of her I’d say she skips to go out drinking and do drugs-“_

__

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_“Don’t you dare talk about my daughter like that!” Janice yelled._

__

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_“Settle down both of you and Simons sit the hell down” the principal suddenly snapped. Then continued in a quieter but not any less tense tone “What exactly did Chris say happened?”_

__

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_“That she attacked him in the hallway” Simons stated “unprovoked”_

__

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_“Alright and what did Abby-“_

__

__

_“Why do you need any more convincing? It’s obvious what happened! What are you going to trust the word of some delinquent that can’t be bothered to show up to class or the straight A quarterback.”_

__

__

_“My daughter is no liar!” Janice exclaimed. “She doesn’t go to class because she already knows everything that’s being taught cuz you refuse to put her in the advanced classes”_

__

__

_“Do you really think a girl with elementary school education like Swiss cheese is actually going to make it in an advanced class?” Simons scoffed arrogantly._

__

__

_“She can remember everything that she’s ever read perfectly just ask her” Janice shot back._

__

__

_“Will you two stop!” The principal snapped and then sighed. “I’m putting both students involved on temporary suspension”_

__

__

_“What!” Simons exclaimed. The office descended into loud bouts of indiscernible yelling. Abby closed her eyes and tuned them and the world out the best she could._  
~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_

“You alright?” Charlie asked hesitantly as him and Don left the Lorman group headquarters. 

“Yeah” Don murmured “It’s just all this stuff about predicting human potential I can’t help thinking about how it’d impact Abby you know?” he explained as the pair loaded into his SUV. “I mean she doesn’t really talk about it but I got enough from her social worker to know that her and Janice lived in some not great neighborhoods growing up.” 

“And this predictive model would have slighted against her despite her potential” Charlie inferred. 

“Exactly I mean she’s incredibly smart” Don explained “and I’ve been trying to go to bat with her regarding these advanced courses and stuff. Like you were already in college at her age and she’s that same kind of smart. I just want her to have all the opportunities she deserves.” 

Charlie chuckled slightly “you know this side of you Abby brings out it- its kinda weird” 

“Yeah? Good weird or bad weird?” Don inquired. 

“Definitely good weird” Charlie assured. 

Don sighed “I guess I finally just understand what Mom and Dad meant when they said they wanted the world for us, you know. And that’s what I want for Abby” Don explained and Charlie smiled working very hard to keep his mouth shut about Abby’s letter from her teachers.  
_____________  
Don glanced up at Abby as she ate her fries, her eyes scanning over the book she had laying on the table. They were eating dinner in their apartment now that he was back from the long case he’d just worked. The man took a deep breath deciding he had given her enough time “so I talked to Ms. Clive today and set up the time for the parent/teacher conference” 

Abby’s head snapped up so fast he was a little concerned “how did you? Did she tell you? Uh…” she fumbled over her words. 

Don scoffed setting down his burger “Abby, first off my job is to figure things out second off if you want a secret kept your uncle is the last person you should tell” Abby groaned putting her head in her hands and muttering a curse word or two towards Charlie. Don chuckled lightly “the only thing I don’t get is why you didn’t tell me. I mean, this is what you’ve been after forever I thought you would have jumped at it” 

“I was and I am… excited” Abby replied carefully biting her lip nervously which made Don shift in his seat. “It’s just… I know me going to college early is a big deal and it’s going to change things for me a- and for you and I didn’t want to make your life harder than I already had” 

Don was surprised by the confession and even more concerned as his daughter refused to make eye contact with him. He thought about what to say and only one thing came to mind “Abby I want the world for you” he told her. 

The girl looked up in surprise, her eyes meeting her father’s “what?”

“Listen I don’t care if this is going to change some things. Because I’m here for you” Don explained “Listen, I appreciate the concern but it’s the parents job to worry about the kid not the other way around or at least not until I’m old and gray” a small smile spread on Abby’s face. 

“Thanks Don” Abby told him. 

“Yeah, of course” Don nodded and he could tell Abby felt a lot better. Not just from this situation but it was like another wall had fallen down, chain had been released. And for him it was like another puzzle had been solved, another crisis averted. For both another step toward being family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! So just to give you guys an idea I've always dream casted Abby as Ellen Page just to give you someone to visualize as you read. Another thing is feedback is the life blood of a reader so I want to thank those who have commented and given kudos that means so much to mean and I encourage you guys to keep it up the best readers are the one's who give feedback whether they liked the story or not. Also just to clarify anything in italics is a flashback for Abby for anytime before she came to live with Don. I try to make it clear how old she is in each but if there is any confusion feel free to ask and I'll try to answer best I can. Thanks!


	12. Tests

I let off a breath closing one text book I’d finished and moving to the next. “You know there’s a difference between learning and memorizing right?” Amita pointed out with a scoff glancing at me over top her laptop screen. 

“I am aware. One is knowing the other is understanding but for me they can understandably get intermingled” I explained as I began to go through the next book. 

Amita nodded “you’re really stressing about this test you have to do for school huh?” 

“Well it is kinda a big deal. The whole prospect of my graduating early is riding on it. That and me getting accepted into college” I explained. 

“Oh really what are you looking to study?” Amita inquired. 

“Mathematics like my uncle probably, maybe something a bit more hands on to” I explained. 

“You know combinatorics is a great field” she offered. 

I scoffed “if you don’t say so yourself” 

We both giggled “seriously though you should look at applying for CalSci. You could stay local. They have a history of accepting young brilliant minds and programs especially made for those who have spotty school records.” 

“You know Larry was saying something similar before” I voiced maybe I will think about it. 

“Plus I’ve been considering stay at CalSci longer to get my second PhD in physics so you’d have another friendly face on campus other than Charlie and Larry” 

“Seriously?” I thought about hanging around CalSci with the brainiac trio. “That sounds really cool”

“I think it’d be cool too and we could take you on a tour of the campus sometime even, you know, show you around” Amita offered. 

I smiled “yeah that’d be great” 

Just then my friend's phone went off and she answered it “hello? … yeah sure I’ll be right there.” she hung up and started packing her things. “Charlie needs my help for a case with Don.” she informed. 

“I can come-” 

“He said specifically not to bring you even if you asked. Sorry” Amita told me sympathetically. 

“Ugh eighteen can not come soon enough” I groaned. 

“There, there” Amita murmured teasingly, patting me on the shoulder as she headed out of the house.  
______________________________  
“You know when you offered to take me on a campus tour I thought I’d see more than the computer lab” I voiced as the trio finished retesting their flight route math for a third time in the CalSci computer lab. 

“I’m sorry but this is very important for the case Don’s working on” Charlie breathed out then thought for a minute “by the way I would appreciate you not telling him I allowed you to help with this math” 

“Don’t worry Uncle C, unlike some people I can keep a secret” I muttered. The man shot me a look but let the subject go as we all mulled over what we might have missed. 

“I don’t get it,” Uncle Charlie declared finally from his seat on the table behind where Amita was working. “The aircraft should have originated from an airfield that the FBI checked out” 

“Maybe they didn’t use an airfield” I suggested from where I sat next to the computer. “Like a highway or something” 

“Well then there would have been witnesses” Amita pointed out to the contrary. 

“You know, here’s where I get reductive on your ass,” Larry spoke up standing “cause you keep saying aircraft but so far no one’s been able to identify whatever it was that people saw.” 

“What are you saying, Larry?” Amita questioned. 

“I’m saying instead of building a flight path, let’s try focusing on the object itself,” Larry suggested. 

“You know what?” Charlie spoke up, hopping off his table “he’s right.” 

“Wait, you're agree that it could be a UFO?” I inquired of my uncle. 

“No, but focusing on the craft might yield better results.” The man explained coming over “We could get a visual of the object by building in all the radar sources at the same time, yes, civilian and military.” 

“So overlap the radar sources?” Amita clarified as she began to type into the computer. 

“That’s right” Charlie confirmed “by layering the images we could build a three dimensional cross section of it” 

Amita typed on the computer for a moment and we all leaned in to see “there” she finally declared “now it’s working off of all seven radar sources.” 

“And it’s building an image of the object,” Larry added. 

We watched as slowly an image began to appear. What we saw looked surprisingly Sci-fi. “Charlie? Is that what I think it is?” Amita inquired. 

“Larry I’m sorry I doubted you” I muttered. 

“Now, le-let’s be very, very careful” Charlie stammered “we shouldn’t jump to any conclusions or make any assumptions. There could be any number of reasons why that looks like-” 

“A vehicle from another part of the universe” Larry finished Charlie’s statement.  
___________  
**3rd POV.**

“Hey Charlie” Don greeted his brother knocking on the door to the office space the professor was using in the library. 

“Hey” the young brother replied writing on a piece of paper. 

“What’s up?” 

“Just grading tests for my Nonlinear Dynamics class.” Charlie informed. 

“Glad to see you’re taking my advice and having some fun” Don commented. 

“Well, you don’t look like you’ve been having too much fun” the younger brother pointed out, eyeing his brother as Don sat down. 

Don sighed “aw man this Gosnell case. Not to mention Abby has to take that test today in school to see if she can get out early.” 

“I’m sure she’ll pass” Charlie reassured “and you know Amita’s already talked her into applying for CalSci” 

“Yeah I’m just stressed on her behalf I guess” the older brother explained “and anyway with this case I just had to tell a guy that his dad died” Don let off another breath slouching in his seat. 

Charlie put down his pencil and turned to give his brother more of his attention “I spent all that time trying to figure out where the plane went. Turns out the pilot didn’t even know, because the rudder was busted.” 

“See, that’s the thing” Don explained “I got to find out where he was headed, ‘cause I think that’s why he was killed. You got any ideas? Anything at all?” 

Charlie sighed packing up his papers and standing “maybe. Could I, uh could I get some data off the flight recorder?” 

“Yeah, I mean, I can see if, uh, Erica can drop some by.” Don offered. “Maybe Amita can help you out” A small smile came to Charlie’s face at the suggestion and Don couldn’t help the knowing grin that came to his face. “Dad said she’s sticking around.” 

“Did he?” Charlie asked, turning to his brother. 

“Well, you happy about that?” Don inquired. 

“Um, are you asking me as her thesis advisor or..?” Charlie ended with a slight chuckle. 

Don scoffed at the blush forming on his younger brother’s features “you tell me” 

“Yeah, I’m happy,” Charlie admitted. 

They were quiet for a moment then another thought occured to Don “hey, what’s the deal I thought you were playing golf today.” 

“Oh no.” Charlie quickly replied “you know, I’m really no use on the golf course.” 

Don sat up as his brother took the seat across from him again “Charlie you know why he likes playing with you, don’t you?” 

“I have no idea” Charlie voiced “because I-I’ve got to be the worst golfer in the history of the game” 

Don shook his head surprised that his genius of a little brother could be so clueless sometimes “No. it’s the one time he gets to teach you something. You understand?” he explained “I mean I’m learning for myself that it’s not easy raising a genius. That’s his one time” Don wasn’t sure Charlie got what he was saying but just then his phone went off “oh excuse me” he stood up to take the call. “Eppes” 

“Don” David’s voice answered “the forensic report from Gosnell’s workshop just came in. We found David Croft’s fingerprints all over the shop.” 

“But I thought you said he hadn’t seen him in years” Don questioned confused. 

“And so he said” David replied 

“All right, look, uh, take a team, pick him up” Don instructed, rubbing his forehead and the bridge of his nose with his hand “I’ll meet you at the office, okay?” 

“You got it” David agreed before hanging up. 

Don pocketed his phone again “alright kid I got to go. See you later” he called to Charlie who nodded his farewell before Don was out the door.  
_________  
“I pass the dang test and as a reward I get to come out here and watch you all golf in heat” Abby complained “that’s so not fair” 

“Ah come on kid a little exercise never hurt anybody” Don objected “maybe you could try it out for yourself” 

“No thank you” teenager replied edgily heading toward the bench with her backpack full of reading material. 

“Where’s Chuck?” Don asked, realizing his younger brother was not in sight. 

“I don’t know last I looked, he was right behind us.” Alan replied looking around. “Oh there he is” he voiced when they spotted the younger man coming up to the bench at another angle. 

“Hey dad” Charlie called dragging his clubs up the incline. “Your clubs weigh a ton” 

“Are you kidding, I've used those clubs for ten years” Alan replied looking in his own golf bag as Abby made herself comfortable on the bench. “There’s nothing wrong with them” 

“Dad, they’re older than he is,” Don pointed out, going over to look in Charlie bag. “I don’t even think they make wood clubs anymore.”

“Yeah I know” Alan said “but each one of ‘em’s got a great sweet spot.” 

“Put ‘em in a museum” Don commented. 

“Eh, when Charlie gets better, I’ll buy him a set of his own” Alan offered. 

“Well isn’t that encouraging” Abby muttered already part way through the novel on her lap. 

“Come on, Charlie, maybe this is the day you’ll par a hole.” Alan suggested. 

“I’d just like to get the ball in the hole. That’s all” Charlie stated as Don came over to sit next to his daughter on the bench. 

“So you passed the test” Don spoke to his kid as Alan talked to his. “What’s next?” 

“I wait and hope CalSci accepts me,” Abby declared looking up from her book. “But who knows if that’s going to happen.” 

“Well aren’t you pessimistic” Don muttered. 

“Well Donald I had to get it from somewhere” Abby replied with a smirk. 

“Yeah your mother” Don stated with a slight grin. 

“Funny she said the same thing about you” Abby advised and the pair shared a laugh as Charlie came over to join them. 

“Alright Alan show us how it’s done” Don called to his father and the three watched as the eldest among them swung the golf club.


	13. I Know

“Well I didn’t exactly have a lot of options” I argued, hopping out of the car. 

“Maybe not but that sounds like an odd one for a snack” Alan stated getting out and grabbing the grocery bag in the back seat. 

“Ugh you sound like my mother” I grumbled as we headed toward the house. 

“Greetings friends” we turned at the call to see Larry walking up the drive. 

“Oh Larry what brings you here?” Alan greeted. 

“Well I was looking for Charles with the intention of spurring him into action on some of the math he promised me” the man explained. 

“Hey Larry you haven’t heard anything about my acceptance at CalSci yet have you?” I asked as we headed to the front door. 

“I’m afraid not but rest assured me and your uncle are keeping our ears to the metaphorical ground for any word from the admission board” Larry replied. 

I let off groan “I hate waiting” 

“Don’t worry, I'm sure they’ll accept you. You’re a great student” Alan assured me. 

“Well who knows I mean the school does get similar applications from young gifted applicants each year so” the physicist ended his statement with a shrug. 

I let out a breath still very anxious about the whole thing “thank you for that Larry” Gramps muttered with an annoyed edge as he opened the front door. “Hey Charlie” 

We headed into the house to see Charlie sitting at the table looking over some papers with a woman. “Hey, this is officer Morris of the California Highway patrol” the professor introduced the woman who smiled. Then he gestured to us “this is my father, my niece, and Dr. Fleinhardt” 

“Oh, please don’t tell me you got another speeding ticket?” Alan joked. 

“Actually your son’s helping me with an accident investigation” Officer Morris explained rising from her seat to shake my grandfather’s hand and then Larry’s then mine “we’re trying to figure out what caused it.” 

“I didn’t know you were consulting for the CHP. Are you?” Alan inquired. 

“Don’s case” Charlie clarified. 

“Oh so this is why he ditched me here instead of taking me to the movies on his day off like he promised” I spoke with a slight edging looking at the documents laid out on the table. 

“Yeah? What sort of accident involved the FBI?” Larry questioned. 

“Prison bus crash” Morris informed. 

“The one I saw on the news.” Gramps inferred. “The bus with the escaped convicts? Don is working on that, huh?” Alan muttered the last bit as he sat down the grocery bag. 

“Yeah. Why?” Charlie questioned most likely sensing the same change in Alan’s demeanor as I had. 

“Oh nothing” Alan brushed the matter off as Larry took a seat at the table “it’s just that your brother was working on fugitive recovery once for a while, uh, anyway” he shook his head. 

“Appears to be basic Newtonian mechanics” Larry observed “the stuff of first-year engineering students. Now why are these elementary equations so captured your imagination?” 

“Well, the confluence of so many unrelated factors coming together at a given point in time” Charlie explained “it’s actually quite a fascinating approach to Bayesian inference as applied to the analysis of time series data.” 

“Yeah well as far as I know anytime an accident happens it’s because somebody made a mistake” Alan declared. “Am I right?” 

“Actually most car crashes happen because of one overestimating their own ability, to make a turn or get through a light. Willing choices that’s why the common public word accident is a misnomer and reports call them crashes.” I informed absently then paused as all the adults’ eyes shifted to me “I read it once” I shrugged. 

“This coming from the girl who doesn’t even have a license” Alan pointed out and I shot him a glare. 

“Either way that’s what we’re trying to figure out.” Morris spoke up “whether there was a mistake and what it was” 

“The answer’s not that simple” Charlie voiced as Alan pulled out his sandwich and went to open a beer I reached around him to grab my sandwich from the bag. “I mean, coincidences are a mathematical reality. Statistically unlikely events can and often do occur. Just look at the genesis of our planet.” 

“Well now, I agree that the factors that brought about life on earth were statistically unlikely” Larry mused “but given the vastness of the cosmos, the limitless possibilities for matter and energy. I’m with Einstein on this. There are no accidents.”  
____________  
“I can understand the fascination of kinematic equations when working alongside an attractive female police officer” Larry voiced as we watched Charlie set up his little reenactment. “But, all the lawn equipment?” 

“What you said about the confluence of the cosmos triggered a thought” Charlie explained “Abby you’re sitting in the road” he muttered shoeing me away so he could set down a skateboard. I scooted over to the side of the path. 

"Ah, note to self: Never talk quantum theory again.” Larry voiced. 

“The initial velocity of the bus barely exceeds that of the flatbed.” Charlie elaborated “the gap between them closing slowly, approximately two feet per second.” he moved the wheel barrel up. 

“And then along comes the skateboard?” Larry questioned. 

“That’s right, the pick up truck” Uncle C confirmed “the pick up truck pulls along the right side of the bus” he demonstrated with the skateboards movement. “Its velocity is 13 miles per hour greater than that of the bus. Now at this point the gap between the bus and the flatbed truck is at least..” he paused reaching for the paper in the wheelbarrow. 

“84 feet” I supplied having seen the paper. 

“Okay, that’s ample enough room for the pickup to safely maneuver in front of the bus” Larry declared. 

“However” Charlie objected, continuing to manipulate the lawn equipment “the gap suddenly closed. The pickup veers in front of the bus forcing the bus to maneuver and hit the guardrail which causes it to torque and flip onto its side” I tilted my head as Charlie turned the wheelbarrow over. 

“How did that gap close so quickly between the bus and the flatbed?” Larry inquired. 

“Acceleration or deceleration” I voiced. 

“Precisely.” Charlie nodded “two possibilities. One, the bus greatly increased its velocity.” 

“No no no” Larry dissuaded that idea “given the mass of the bus, that’s extremely unlikely.” 

I craned my neck as I saw Don’s car pulling up to the house. “Or two, the flatbed truck reduced its speed at the critical moment, causing the pickup to veer in front of the bus.” 

“That’s it” Larry determined with the snap of his fingers “the flatbed slowed down”

“That’s right” Charlie agreed. 

“And that does mean anything good” I muttered letting out a breath. 

“It would also mean” Larry mused. 

“A Markov chain” Charlie finished the thought. 

“Exactly” Larry muttered. 

“Gentlemen and lady” Don greeted us as he walked up “what’s all this?” he looked over the reenactment. 

“Just trying to make sense of something that doesn’t make sense” Charlie explained. 

“Thought that’s what you do best” Don sighed. “What, uh, what’s the problem?” 

“Well, apparently, that seed spreader” Larry voiced. 

Don gave a confused look and Charlie quickly jumped in “t-the flatbed truck” 

“What- what about it?” Don inquired. 

“The crash wasn’t an accident” Charlie informed. “Don, it was staged.” 

“You’re sure?” Don pressed. 

“Mathematically certain” I declared Don shot me a look “it's lawn equipment and simple math please don’t lecture me on not helping” 

Don sighed “fine later” he grumbled then turned to Charlie “think you can work up a model to show at the office” 

“That’s an easy matter of imputing these findings into a computer simulation” Charlie explained. 

“Maybe the cute CHP lady officer can help you” I teased my uncle. 

“Cute CHP lady officer?” Don questioned turning to his brother who shot me an annoyed look. 

“It’s not like that,” Charlie objected. 

“Sure Charles, sure” Larry murmured and we all shared a laugh at the mathematician's expense.  
________________  
**3rd POV.**

“All these different events and factors from the initial velocity of the bus to its final torque” Charlie explained to Don and Agent Cooper “all of these create what’s called a Markov Chain.” 

“What kind of Chain?” Cooper questioned. 

“Markov. A sequence of random values where the probabilities at any given time depend on the values at a previous time.” Charlie attempted to elaborate “the controlling factor in a Markov chain is called the transitional probability. Now in this case the bus reaches a certain point in the road just as the truck blocks the lane, just as the pickup cuts off the bus.” the professor gestured to his diagram. 

“Which tells you it wasn't an accident?” Don asked with minor confusion. 

“Bayesian statistics and the Chapman-Kolmogorov equation tell me that.” Charlie clarified. 

“Are you sure you’re his brother?” Billy joked to Don. 

“Yeah, you think he’s freaky smart you should meet my kid” Don replied off handedly focusing on Charlie and missing the double take Cooper gave him. 

“If the flatbed truck had maintained its initial velocity, well then the pickup should have enough space to roam freely past the bus safely.” Charlie continued “but it didn’t.” he pressed a button going to the next image “the truck slowed down just as the right moment just as the pickup timed its move, forcing the bus to veer violently and overturn.” 

“So the pickup driver and the flatbed guy are in on it” Don deduced. 

“Only the gardener’s missing” Cooper muttered. 

“Let’s go find that truck driver” Don declared getting up and Billy following after him. “Good job Charlie thanks” 

Don and Cooper exited the meeting room and headed through the bullpen. “So uh that comment about you having a kid that serious?” Billy asked as they paused by Don’s desk so he could grab his jacket. 

Don let off a breath, his brain somehow just realizing that his former partner would have no way of knowing about Abby appearing in Don’s life a little less than a year ago. “Uh yeah um kind of a long story but uh you remember that girl from college I mentioned Janice Calvin?” Don asked as they headed toward the elevator. 

“Yeah the one left you a note and went back home?” Cooper recalled. 

“Yeah, well, turns out she was pregnant. And what will be a year ago soon I got this knock on my door from a social worker telling me she died and left a kid behind. And my name’s on the birth certificate” Don explained. 

Cooper let off a breath “that’s crazy man.” 

“You’re telling me” Don muttered as they entered the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby. “Still it’s been good having her in my life you know? Her name’s Abby and she just tested out of highschool as a sophomore applied to college for next semester” 

“Really?” Cooper nodded then a slight smirk came to his features “so out of all these geniuses in your family how the heck did you end up like this?” 

“Ah” Don scoffed, giving his friend a shove as the doors opened and they headed out chuckling.  
__________  
**Abby POV.**

“Why am I here?” I muttered in annoyance. 

“Because I find this interesting” Alan whispered back. 

“That explains why you’re here, not why I am” I grumbled turning the page of my book. 

“Well, if you’d quiet down you might just learn something” Alan suggested. I sighed and looked up at Uncle Charlie who was standing in front of a black baord that read “Math for Non-Mathematicians”. 

“Most people believe that they can trust their instincts” Uncle C explained “however, math suggests that our instincts aren’t always correct” he bent down and picked up a couple big white boards and big red X’s off the ground. “We’re gonna play a little game.” he declared, setting out the white cards on stands “I want you all to pretend that we’re on a fame show, and I’m you cheesy game show host. And behind one of these cards is a brand new automobile.” he added a joking deepness to his voice at that last line that elicited some laughs from the audience of the class “and behind the other two are goats. Yeah, goats.” I rolled my eyes and turned back to my story.”I’m going to need a volunteer” I glanced up making sure my uncle wasn’t thinking of choosing me as a couple hands went up “come on, more of you than that. Come on.” he encouraged, receiving a couple laughs in response “Julie” he finally selected. “Why don’t you pick one of these cards? Remembering of course the object is to win the car, not the goat.” 

“I’ll take the one in the middle” Julie chose. 

“She takes the middle card” Charlie declared, sticking an X to the card. “And what are the chances that that card is the winning card?” 

“One in three” Julie answered. 

“Three choices, one car. Right?” Charlie clarified “one in three, it’s simple enough, right? Now, here’s where the game’s gonna take a turn. I’m going to reveal to you one of the cards that you did not choose” he reached to the card on the right and flipped it around to reveal a goat “So, we have two cards yet to be revealed. Now, knowing what you know, do you want to switch your choice? Or more importantly for the purposes of this class, does it matter? Will switching your choice improve your chances of winning?” 

“Yes switch it” I muttered under my breath going back to my book. Alan gave me a side look. 

“Well no. because now, two cards it’s 50/50, right?” Julie replied to the teacher. 

“How many people agree with her?” Charlie asked. 

“Don’t raise your hand” I mumbled sarcastically, turning the page of my book. Inevitable people did though most of the class in fact Alan looked around surprised. 

“That’s what your instinct tells you, but you’d be wrong.” Charlie explained. “Switching your cards at this point actually doubles your chances of winning the car.” 

“How?” Julie questioned. 

“Well, since we started out with two goats,” Charlie explained “it’s more likely that your first choice was a goat. What are the odds of choosing the goats?”

“Two out of three” Julie answered. 

“Right. So it’s more likely that this is a goat, less likely that it’s a car” the professor gestured to the center card “and it’s more likely that this card is a car” he pointed to the card on the left. “See switching your choice gives you a two-out-of-three chance of winning the car, rather than the on-out-of-three chance that we all began with.” he revealed the left card as the car to make his point. “Vroom vroom” he joked making the class chuckle. “You won a car, Julie. Congratulations.'' Then Uncle Charlie paused his eyes drifting to the back of the room before he checked his watch. “I think. Yeah, yeah, we’re out of time.” I looked back to see Don standing in the back of the room with another man who I could assume was another agent. “So uh, go home make some of these for yourselves. Put together some reasonable “n” samples, and uh.. Yeah see what happens. I’ll see you all next week. thanks.” 

The students began to disperse and Alan followed my line of sight to Don and the other agent. He got up and I followed him back to the two men. “Hey Dad, what are you two doing here?” 

“Oh I like coming whenever Charlie gives one of these math-for-dummies lectures. It’s the only time I actually understand what he’s talking about” Gramps explained “plus this one needed to get out of the house I couldn’t stand anymore anxious pacing about this acceptance letter” 

“Hey I wasn’t pacing” I objected adjusting my backpack on my shoulders “much” 

“This is Billy Cooper” Don introduced the man next to him. “He’s an agent I work with.” 

“Hi” Alan greeted him with a hand shake “we’ve met before, haven’t we?” 

“oh , yeah.” Don murmured “I couldn’t remember” 

“You worked a case with Don out here once?” Alan guessed. 

“Back in the day, yes, sir” Agent Cooper confirmed and glanced between me and my Grandfather. 

“Donnie, can I talk to you for a minute?” Alan requested. 

“Yeah, sure.” Don agreed and looked to Billy “just give me a second” him and Alan shuffled out of the room. 

Agent Cooper turned to me “you must be Abby then” he inquired and I nodded “uh so your uh old man mentioned that you were some kind of genius like your Uncle” he gestured vaguely to where Charlie was packing up his stuff from class. 

“Um yeah I have a decent IQ and an Advanced Eidetic Memory” I explained shifting on my feet. 

“What’s that mean?” the agent asked. 

“I have near perfect visual memory recall especially when I read” I explained gesturing to the book in my hand. 

“Cool” Cooper nodded and glanced out the doorway to where Don and Alan were still talking. 

“So you work with my dad?” I inquired blinking as the last word came out of my mouth easier than I thought. 

“Yup” Cooper smiled “me and Don actually used to be partners back in the day when he worked fugitive recovery. Made a great team” 

I smiled slightly “that’s cool” 

“Hey agent Cooper” Charlie cut in as he came over to greet the agent.  
________  
**3rd POV.**

Don walked with his father out of the room and into the courtyard outside. “Um- wh-what are you doing? What’s going on?” Alan asked, turning to Don once they were out of earshot. 

“What are you talking about?” Don asked, confused. 

“Well, I- I haven’t seen you for days. Not since you dropped Abby off.” Alan pointed out. 

“I’m working,” Don explained. 

“Yeah, I know, Charlie told me.” Alan informed “Are you going back to manhunting now?” 

“Oh, I see. Dad, come on” Don sighed in annoyance. “Don’t. This is one case.” 

“I seem to recall your saying that about only one case once before,” Alan pointed out, “but, if you remember, they were not good days for you, or for me. I mean, we didn’t hear from you for weeks. We didn’t even know where the hell you were.” 

“Dad-” Don tried to interject but failed. 

“You do realize that uh, chasing after someone you could be running away from yourself at the same time” Alan stated. “And now you’re a father Donnie you have a daughter in there that relies on you and you have a responsibility to her. Have you even talked to her the last couple days?” 

“Yes dad, of course I have'' Don finally interjected agitated. Then he sighed “contrary to what you might think I don’t plan to abandon her” 

Before Alan could respond to that statement or before Don could process the emotions it set forth Charlie was joining them with Abby and Billy right behind him. Don looked at Abby for a moment as Charlie greeted them and asked Alan about his lecture. 

Sometimes it was easy for him to forget she was a kid with how her brain worked and how stubbornly independent she could be. However, with her duct taped and sharpied shoes and ratty backpack he wouldn’t let him buy her replacements for, fading freckles and various superhero and tv show related t-shirts. She really was every bit the teenager her age dictated. A teenager who Don knew needed her father.  
____________  
“Hey” Don called walking up as Coop was loading up his car “So you’re out of here?” 

“Heading to Phoenix.” Billy sighed “meth tweaker I been chasing.” 

“No chance we could get you to stick around?” Don asked helping him with the bags “maybe put in for a position around here?” 

“What, and settle down?” Billy chuckled. 

“Hey, it’s not bad Coop, I gotta tell you.” Don advised leaning on the car. 

“You don’t miss it?” Cooper inquired. 

“No. Not really, no” Don shook his head. 

“The rush you get when you’re hauling his ass in,” Coop tempted “your fugitive’s a couple hours ahead of you and you’re closing ground.” 

“Alright, maybe a little,” Don conceded. “Hey, but not being in touch with my family, not being able t o talk to anybody, I don’t miss that.” he took a deep breath “I don’t know, I think LA’s good for me.” 

“Well” Coop sighed closing his trunk “plus you’re a dad now” 

Don chuckled “yeah there’s that too” 

“Listen that kid’s lucky to have you.” Billy told him “and if she’s anything like her old man she's got a good future ahead of her” 

“Thanks man” Don sighed as the two shook hands walking back toward the drivers side of the car “keep your head down, huh?” 

“I’ll do that,” Billy nodded, getting in his car to leave.  
___________  
“You do realize watching out the window isn’t going to make him get here any sooner right?” Alan voiced. 

Abby sighed and slid down to sit on the couch. “What’s taking so long” she whined. 

“Relax kid” Don advised taking a sip of his beer. “He’ll get here soon” 

“Easy for you to say” Abby grumbled. Just then the door of the house opened and the trio sitting in the living room turned as Charlie walked in. 

Abby bounced to her feet. “Do you have it? Do you have it?” she asked eagerly. 

“Hello to you too” Charlie mumbled earning him a glare from his niece. “It’s right here” he held up the letter from the schools admissions office. 

Abby took the letter and looked it over like it was some rare artifact. She let off a slow breath. “You want me to open it?” Don asked after a moment. 

“No” Abby objected then took a deep breath and tore the envelope open pulling out the paper inside. 

The three men watched as her eyes scanned over it abnormally fast for the average person. Then another second before a large smile spread over her face. 

“I got in” she whispered almost inaudibly then began to repeat louder jumping up and down in joy “I got in! I got in! I got in!” she stopped and whisked over to where Don was sitting “Dad! Dad! Dad! Look! I even got a scholarship!”

“I can see that” Don murmured looking at the paper that was thrust into his hand “nice job kid” 

“We knew you could do it,'' Alan encouraged with a smile. 

“I’m going to go call Amita and tell her” Abby declared “this is awesome!” with that she ran from the room. 

“Donnie, uh,” Alan spoke up after a moment “you are aware she just called you dad right? Without uh any snarky backdrop or anything” 

Don smiled lightly eyes still on the acceptance letter “yeah I know”


	14. Judge

“Hello, Gramps?” I called coming into the house with Amita. 

“Kitchen” the man called back.

“Hey” Charlie greeted us with a smile from where he sat at the kitchen table with Larry. 

“How is CalSci’s most recent addition to the student body?” Larry inquired. 

“Pretty good” I replied, adjusting my backpack on my shoulders. “Homework sucks” 

The three adults chuckled light “well that doesn’t ever change” Amita scoffed and we took seats at the table. 

“Hello ladies” Alan greeted coming in with a tray of coffee cups. 

“Hi Mr. Eppes” Amita smiled. 

“Alan, please” the man replied, setting the tray down and taking a seat. 

We each took a cup and started to chat as we drank. I’d been attending CalSci for a couple weeks now and it was already far better than high school. Even though I was the youngest in all my classes being just shy of seventeen. 

“Oh so I was at the court today looking for Don,” Charlie explained, “and he was talking to the prosecutor Hodges. I think he was going to lunch with her before I interrupted.” 

“Lunch as in friends or lunch as in a date?” Amita inquired, sipping her coffee. 

“It didn’t seem like a friend's thing” Charlie stated “I think he was asking her out” I shifted in my seat at the information. 

“You say her name is Hodges?” Alan inquired standing up. 

“Yeah. Nadine” Charlie offered as we all got up to follow the other man toward the living room “she seemed pretty interested in him, too. Although I’m not really good at reading those kinds of signals” 

“No you're not” Amita muttered and we exchanged an amused look behind the professors back. 

“You know that term dark matter?” Larry spoke up “that has always perplexed me. It fallaciously implies that the 95% of our universe that can’t be observed is some amorphous eventles, just, uh, emptiness” he shrugged as we all took seats. Amita and Charlie taking the couch and me grabbing a seat on the floor in front of the coffee table. 

“I’m sorry?” Amita looked at him questioningly. 

“The random musings of Professor Fleinhardt” I offered with a grin that made the others chuckle lightly. 

“I suppose it’s all too human” Larry continued uninhibited by our humor “instead of just admitting to the present limits of our knowledge, we simply declare things to be unknowable.” 

“This somehow relates to dating?” Alan questioned from where he was still standing. 

“Oh I’m sorry; to reading signals” the physicist clarified, coming around the chair he had been standing behind “and, of course, to Rhonda Pickford.” 

“I’m not familiar with her work,” Amita said. 

Larry sat his coffee cup on the table clapping his hands together to gesture with them “she had a crush on me in fifth grade” he admitted. 

“Oh” Amita murmured as I had to restrain a small laugh. 

“And of course girls in fifth grade suddenly became 95% unknowable” Larry explained. 

“Huh, isn’t that the truth” Alan muttered. 

“I’m not following” Charlie voiced in minor confusion. 

“Then keep up” I replied back sarcastically even though I had no idea where the eccentric man was going either. My Uncle just shot me a look as Larry continued. 

“Oh well, you see, I labeled her to be dark matter, and I just moved on to more accessible pursuits. Like uh,” he chuckled slightly “space invaders, actually.”

“So what happened to this, um, uh Rhonda?” Alan asked as Larry sat down. 

“Oh, she became a professional cheerleader.” Larry informed. 

“Really?” 

“She did. Yes, she did” Larry muttered. 

“I doubt that Don actually views women as dark matter.” Gramps objected. 

“I think I might be some kind of proof of that,” I murmured taking a sip of my coffee. I was trying very hard to keep the overwhelming amount of sarcasm out of my voice. 

“Well, she’s a prosecutor.” Amita voiced “I’m sure he’ll see her again.” 

“Actually, Don thinks there’s a chance that the man she’s prosecuting may be behind the murder of the judges wife” Charlie informed. 

“So they’ll be seeing each other a lot” I wasn’t sure my attempt to make that sound like a question rather than an annoyed statement quite succeeded based on the hum my grandfather made to my right. 

“You know something?” Larry spoke up again “under that reasoning wouldn’t that make this prosecutor just as likely a target?” 

We all mulled over that thought before Amita declared that we needed to talk about something brighter and changed the subject. I sighed picking up my empty coffee cup and saucer heading for the kitchen.

I entered and placed my dishes in the sink a moment later Alan came in to do the same thing. I shifted to the island getting a cookie from the package we had sitting there. “So, uh, you’re alright. Right?” Alan asked, turning on the sink to rinse mine and his cups. 

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I inquired leaning on the island. 

“Well you just started college which can be a little overwhelming and this thing with Don and dating” he muttered as I took a bite of my cookie. 

“I’m fine Grandpa, it’s just a little weird thinking of my dad dating” I explained. 

“I see” Alan nodded “any particular reason?” 

I shrugged “not really” sometimes I hated how observant my grandfather could be. “Thanks Gramps for the concern but really I’m fine” I told him and promptly left the kitchen before he could probe anymore. Dark matter indeed.  
______________  
“Says the guy who only eats white food” I muttered, popping another piece of popcorn in my mouth. 

“Touche” Larry nodded as we walked down the hall at CalSci. Him with his tray of food and me with a bag of popcorn “still I must agree with Alan that it is a fairly odd food choice” 

“Have you ever tried it?” I argued. 

“Well no” Larry conceded as we reached Charlie’s office. 

“Then don’t judge” I stated. The man shrugged as I opened the office door and walked in. 

Within the office was my uncle and Amita along with another woman I didn’t recognize. However I could spot the badge and gun from the doorway. Meaning she probably worked with my father. 

“Oh, well, this is where all the fun is, huh?” Larry voiced. 

“Professor Fleinhardt, my dear niece,” Charlie greeted us. 

“Hey Larry, hey Abby” Amita called from her place sitting at a computer. 

“This is Megan Reeves” Uncle C introduced the woman “she’s working with Don” 

“Uh, hi. Hi” Larry stammered in greeting as Megan smiled at him. 

She then looked to me “you’re Don’s daughter?” Megan asked me with a curious look. 

“Um, yeah you must be his new partner?” I inferred recalling what Don had told me about Terry’s leaving and the new female agent assigned to his office. 

“Yup” Megan nodded. 

“I hope you don’t mind,” Larry murmured gesturing to my and his food as he ate. 

“Oh, no, not at all” Megan assured as I tossed a couple more pieces of popcorn in my mouth. “You realize all your food is white?” she questioned the physicist. 

“Mm, yes, I prefer white food.” Larry explained. 

“Why is that?” Megan inquired further as Larry headed around me and my Uncle toward the desk. 

“Supersymmetry” He offered “it’s a theory that describes the nature of connectivity in complex multi dimensional space” he moved some files in order to sit in the chair behind Charlie’s desk. 

“You symmetry is also a term we use in behavioral science to explain obsessive behavior” she suggested. 

“Oh, is it now?” Larry questioned with an amused tone. 

“I have a two year old nephew who won’t eat anything but pasta with butter” Megan explained as I pulled my popcorn out of the reach of my scavenging uncle. “We’re a little worried he might be a budding scientist.”

“Larry has a tendency to live out his theories,” Charlie explained. Megan chuckled lightly nodding in response, an endeared smile on her face. I glanced between her in the physicist a small smirk growing on my face “Amita, are you ready to show us the 3-D scatter plot distribution of all the relevant cases?” 

“Sure” the computer guru replied, finishing her typing. We all looked at her screen curiously to see the scatter plot. 

“It looks like a random buckshot of points” Megan muttered. 

“Except for a small number of cases that stand out” Charlie advised. Amita typed in the next filter criteria and most of the points dropped down to the bottom of the graph. 

“Wow, that’s a lot less files than I originally gave you” Megan observed. 

“Yeah and we’re not even done yet” Charlie murmured. “Amita,” Uncle C grabbed a pad of paper and started writing. I glanced over his shoulder and quickly realized the filter he was putting together. “do you think you can filter the rest through something like this?” 

Amita took the paper and looked it over “It looks kind of like decision theory” 

“Except it’s reverse decision theory isn’t it?” I voiced giving my uncle a look. He nodded “Smart move” 

“Thank you” Charlie smirked “decision theory values are determined by risk and reward” he explained further to those who might not be aware. 

“Corporations use it to weigh business plans, what products to develop, what companies to do business with.” Larry chimned in. 

“Like a hunter searching for food.” Charlie analogized “he’s constantly evaluating his terrain, his available prey, and rival predators weighing them against his own appetite, his own strength, his needs. Until he makes what he considers an optimal decision.” 

“But reverse decision theory flips it around” I offered. 

“You take the optimal goal and you reverse the process” Larry added. 

“In other words you start with the final decision?” Megan inferred. 

“The murder of Alison Trelane” Amita explained.

“That’s right.” Charlie agreed “and then, determine which predator is most likely by inclination, by opportunity to have made that decision” 

The computer chirped as the final results boiled down to two points. “There you go” I murmured “your hunters”  
____________  
**3rd POV.**

“So Charlie tells me you were shot at this afternoon. Huh again?” Alan muttered as the Eppes family sat around the kitchen table for dinner. 

Don sighed annoyance flaring in him as he shot a look across the table at his little brother “oh, yeah? Well, what Charlie should have said was more like” he paused trying to figure out how to better phrase the encounter he’d had with Raymond outside the courthouse. “I was in the vicinity of shooting. Let’s put it that way.” he hazarded a glance at his daughter sitting next to him. She didn’t look up but impaled her next bite of food on her fork with a bit more force then probably necessary. 

“He saved this prosecutor” Charlie declared, probably trying to earn favor with his brother with the praise but just bugging him more. “And yet, he still won’t ask her out, for some reason.” 

The only one to catch the eye roll demonstrated by the resident teenager was Alan who made note of the reaction. “Really? What’s the problem” he questioned. 

“Yeah,, she’s hot, man. She’s perfect” Charlie encouraged. Don started shaking his head in denial “she’s interesting. You said she was perfect.” 

“No, I didn't,” Don objected. 

“So now you only date women who have something wrong with them?” Alan inquired of his eldest. 

“I’m not dating anyone,” Don clarified. 

“So I noticed.” Alan murmured. 

“Yeah what’s that about?” Charlie asked. 

“Look, you know” Don finally snapped holding up a hand “with what I do, relationships are, they’re- they’re just not easy, okay? Especially when you’re a single father?” Abby’s head popped up ever so slightly and Don somewhat regretted adding the last statement “would you just trust me?” 

“Come on, Don,” Alan objected “just because something might go wrong doesn’t mean that you don’t take a shot.” 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, okay?” Don’s voice raised slightly with his mounting frustration at both his family and himself. “It’s more complicated than that. Among other things, I don’t want to put someone at risk. I don’t want to be a risk for someone.” he paused and spared a glance at his daughter who was now looking at him with her sharp gaze “another someone” he muttered in addition “you understand?” 

“I see” Alan murmured leaning forward slightly “which means that police and lawyers and judges shouldn’t get married?” 

“Yeah well look at judge Trelan” Don pointed out “Think I want to go through that? No, sir” Don sighed and glanced over at Abby again he did a double take but she’d already turned away by her second look. She no longer held that sharp look she’d given him and a tension in her shoulders had eased. She almost looked sad about something.  
_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~  
_“Here’s our new home” Janice announced, leading her daughter into the building she was calling their home._

__

__

_“It stinks in here” Abby commented._

__

__

_“It’s called having character squirt” Janice’s latest boyfriend spoke from where he appeared in the living room with a beer in hand._

__

__

_“Hey Danny” Janice greeted him with a kiss. “Abbs why don’t you go upstairs and settle in?”_

__

__

_“First door on the right” Danny offered the instruction. Six year old Abby left her mother down stairs with Danny climbing the steps._

__

_The first room on the right was a dingy place. There was a mattress in one corner with a window next to it. The grey, probably at one point green, paint was peeled in places. Water marks were on the beige ceiling and the wood floor creaked with each of Abby’s steps._

__

__

_The girl dropped her bag and walked over to the window looking out at the yard below. There was noise down stairs and moments later Janice came storming down the hallway._

__

__

_“You said you stopped Danny!”_

__

__

_“I have babe I swear!”_

__

__

_“Then what are you doing hanging out with Darryl?”_

__

__

_“He’s my brother!”_

__

__

_“He’s a meth head!”_

__

__

_Abby decided to tune them out as they fought. Busying herself with making up her bed with the sheets in her duffel bag._  
~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~  
**Abby POV.**

A tap on my shoulder drew me from my memory. I slid my blinders to the top of my head and looked up to see Don looking down at me, a questioning look on his face. 

“What’s up” I inquired. 

“I just wanted to talk to you real quick” Don muttered “about what Dad and Charlie were saying at dinner” he began “I know that me dating might not be the most comfortable subject for you an-” 

“I think you should” I declared before he could finish. 

Don froze where he’d been scratching the back of his head and gave me a confused look  
“What?” 

I sighed “I think you should ask the prosecutor out” 

Don opened his mouth as if to say something but he closed it again with a sigh when nothing came out. He came over and sat down next to me on the bed. “So you’re okay with this?”

“Not really” I admitted taking my blinders off my head and fiddling with them “I mean my mom dated a lot of guys and most of them pretty crappy and part of me can’t help but relate that to this” I murmured Don nodded taking in the information. “But I don’t think not wanting to be a risk for someone is a reason not to date them. I mean you deserve to be happy and it’s really their choice if they want to take that risk with you” 

“So if I asked Nadine out?” Don prompted. 

“I wouldn’t be thrilled about it but I’d give her a shot” I declared. 

Don nodded “alright” just then his phone beeped he looked at it and sighed “I got to go” 

“Be safe” I told him as he got up and headed for the door. 

“Made a promise remember?” he replied with a light smirk before heading down the hall. 

A second later Alan appeared in the doorway. “How much of that did you overhear?” I asked with narrowed eyes. 

“Enough to know I’m proud of you” he declared. 

“Yeah well he deserves it” I replied and we shared a smile.  
___________  
“Okay, Donnie, it’s time to eat” Alan announced as me, him, and Charlie headed into my father’s office. 

“Hey,” Don greeted. 

“You eat dinner yet?” Charlie inquired. 

“Lobster at the Oceanfront. Charlie’s buying” Alan declared. 

“And hurry I’m starving” I added. 

“Let’s go, I'm driving” Charlie stated, holding up his keys. 

“Yeah, well, that’s not an incentive” Don objected, grabbing his coat and giving his brother a look. 

“Which is why I need another adult witness,” Alan replied “insurance purposes, you know?” 

I chuckled lightly then spotted a blonde haired woman that was all dressed up coming toward us. She stopped before us with a smile. “Nadine,” Don introduced “this is my father Alan, and, uh, Charlie you know right? And this, uh, is my daughter Abby” he introduced me last with a hand on my shoulder. 

“Hi nice to meet you” she smiled at all “Charlie good to see you again” she smiled then her gaze shifted to me “and it’s real pleasure to meet you Abby, your Dad speaks quite highly of you” 

“Uh thanks” I murmured, exchanging a look with my father. 

Nadine then addressed Don “I need to grab something out of my car. Can I just meet you out there?” she asked.

“I’ll be two seconds,” Don assured her. 

“All right” she then smiled at us all waving farewell as she walked away. 

“Wow, she is one hot looking prosecutor” Alan murmured. 

“Alright easy there, pop” Don spoke up. 

“I know I'm your father” Gramps replied “but she’s still one hot looking prosecutor” 

I shook my head “please stop” I muttered and the men chuckled, Don messing up my hair slightly as we continued to walk forward. 

“We’re trying to figure out what to do about Hector Machado,” Don explained. “I mean, this guy might end up collecting reward money for reporting a crime that he probably arranged. So it’s a working dinner.” 

“Which explains the professional working dinner cologne” Alan pointed out. 

“Busted” I murmured.

“Hey” Don objected with a slight smirk as he walked away from us “I never ruled out the possibility of some kind of quantum entanglement” 

Alan looked to Charlie with a questioning look “that’s not one of mine” he admitted. 

My grandfather’s gaze shifted to me “not mine either, but I like it” I replied and we all shared a small laugh.


	15. Seventeen

I came trudging into my uncles office and threw my backpack down in his chair. The three men within the office gave me a concerned look. “Trouble adapting to college life?” Charlie inquired. 

I let off a breath leaning on the desk “college students are better but no less annoying than high schoolers” I declared “I just talked to a girl in one of my classes who asked and I quote ‘are you visiting on a high school field trip?’” I mocked the girl's squawky voice. 

Don chuckled slightly “well you are sixteen. Not a lot of kids your age running around these halls” 

“She sees me every other day in our class. She borrowed my pencil once” I exclaimed indignantly. 

“Ah it seems this fair student was wrapped in her own world to the point of tuning the rest out” Larry declared. 

“Yeah or she’s just an asshole” I muttered then glanced at the computer screen on the desk “is that some kind of code?” 

“Yes it’s a rolling code for a car remote” Charlie explained, holding up the remote in question in his hand. “It’s actually part of a kidnapping case” 

“Kidnapping?” I questioned. 

Don sighed and shot his brother a look “yeah it’s a case we’re working.” 

I nodded resisting the urge to ask if I could help. Just then my phone alarm went off. “I have class” I sighed, turning off the alarm and grabbing my backpack. 

“I’ll walk with you,” Don offered. I nodded and waved farewell to Charlie and Larry as we exited the office. We only got a couple feet from the door before Don was talking again “so your birthday is this weekend.” 

“What? Really? I had no idea” I replied sarcastically. 

Don scoffed “I was just wondering if you wanted to do anything? I mean just me and you could hangout or we could have a barbecue at the house with everybody. Whatever you want” he shrugged. 

“Uh yeah a barbecue would be cool” I murmured the grip on my backpack tightening a bit. 

“You sure?” Don asked. I glanced over to see him looking at me with mild concern in his features. 

“Yeah fine” I assured him as we reached the door to my classroom “it’s just…” I hesitated “don’t worry about it it's nothing” 

“Okay” Don nodded “have fun on your field trip” he teased. 

“Ha ha very funny” I muttered a small smile on his face. He turned to leave and I ducked into the classroom. There was a sinking feeling in my gut and another feeling that I couldn’t quite place and didn’t really like.  
________________  
**3rd POV.**

“And no, no contact, in almost seven hours” Don murmured looking at the board set up in the war room. “What the hell are they after?” 

“I still think Erica Logan has to be the key” Megan declared standing up as Don began to pace the room. “This kind of radical shift in behavior? There has to be some sort of trigger.” 

“Trigger?” David questioned from his seat “like what?” 

“I can tell you what a textbook would say,” Megan explained. “Statistically, it’s things like a near-death experience. A person can exhibit an extreme shift in behavior if they survived a plane crash. Another could be a person who’s told they only have a month to live, may act on fantasies of an alter ego.” 

“Doesn’t fit, though in this case” Colby objected. “The autopsy would have flagged that.” 

“All right so what else?” Don inquired leaning on the table. 

“Uh, parental instinct” Megan offered “the perception of a serious threat to a child.” 

“That also doesn’t fit” Colby spoke up again “I mean, her father said she doesn’t have kids, right?” 

Don thought about his talk with the man for a second and the pictures in the house realization hitting him “but there was a brother, right?” he asked, gesturing to David who had also been there for the interview “the old man said she practically raised him.” 

“Yeah” David nodded in agreement sitting up in his seat. 

“A younger sibling could be the trigger, if they had developed that kind of relationship” Megan agreed. 

“Younger brothers can definitely be a trigger, trust me on that one” Don stated with an edge of humor before going back to business mode turning to David “why don’t you go talk to the old man see if you can get an address on the son.” the agent nodded and started grabbing his things “I mean, I want to get everything we can on this kid, right?”

Colby grabbed his things and followed David out of the room. When it was just them Megan turned to Don. “speaking of parental instincts how’s that daughter of yours doing?” 

“Abby? She’s fine” Don shrugged. 

“Really? I mean it can’t be easy being a sixteen year old kid in college” Megan voiced. 

Don scoffed “she complains less about it than she did about high school so” he shrugged.  
“Well since she’s in a house full of men. Why don’t you tell her if she ever needs a woman’s advice she can have my number” Megan offered. 

“Thanks” Don smiled at his partner before she turned and left. Don shifted some files and thought a bit to himself. He’d never thought about it before but Abby was constantly surrounded by guys. The only female influence in her life right now that he could think of was Amita. Was that why she had been so weird about the barbecue?

Don doubted it. Maybe he was just coming to weird conclusions. Maybe the barbecue wasn’t even an issue and she was just preoccupied with the class she was about to walk into when he asked. No, she had a look on her face that told him she wasn’t happy about something. He just had no idea what and now he had to figure it out. 

As he turned to leave the board caught his attention again. Parental instincts could change behavior. He thought that was a bit of an understatement.  
_______________  
**Abby POV.**

“Oh come on Charlie it couldn’t have been that bad.” Alan objected from the kitchen as the mathematician sulked at the dining room table. 

“Actually, I truly can’t explain how awful it was,” Charlie muttered as Alan came out and sat a mug of hot tea down in front of his son and two plates of cake, one for him and one for me. 

“Oh, I don’t understand it.” Gramps grumbled “You and Amita. You always got along so well.” 

Charlie shrugged “I’m just as confused as you are” 

“Yeah well, maybe it’ll be better next time, hmm?” Alan suggested as I just ate my cake and read quietly. 

“Yeah, I don’t think there’s going to be a next time in the future” Uncle C sighed as my father entered the house through the front door. 

“No, no, you do not give up.” Alan objected. “You never give up” 

“Who’s giving up what?” Don inquired. 

“Charlie. He blew his first date with Amita” Gramps informed. 

“And he’s being very pouty about it” I added earning me a small glare from my uncle. 

“I wouldn’t say that I- I blew it, Dad or that I’m pouting” the professor objected. “I mean that’s…” he trailed off as Alan gave him a look “yeah, maybe I blew it.” 

“And are pouty” I chimed in and got another half hearted glare. 

“Wait, what happened, buddy?” Don asked, shedding his coat. 

“It’s just we found out that we really don’t have much to talk about outside math” Charlie explained as Gramps got to his feet. 

“And you can’t talk about math because?” I questioned. 

“Well it’s our work and we want to talk about more than just work” Charlie muttered. 

“Oh, man.” Don sighed “Yeah, I know about that. Maybe it’s an Eppes thing you know? When Terry and I started dating, the first thing we said was we weren’t going to talk about work, right? You know, not a word.” 

“Don’t say it’s an Eppes thing cuz that curses me too” I complained. 

“Hey last I checked your last name was still Calvin so you get exempt” Don pointed out. 

“So, how’d you work it out?” Alan inquired handing his eldest the beer he had just retrieved from the kitchen. “With Terry?’ 

“Well, I mean, she’s back with her ex but..” Don murmured. 

“That’s really very encouraging” Charlie grumbled sarcastically. 

“I didn't mean it like that” Don objected with a slight chuckle “I’m sorry. It’s different with you guys. You’ll work it out.” Charlie just let off a breath. “Meanwhile, I’m hitting a wall with this case.” 

“You haven’t found them yet?” Charlie inquired. 

“Found who?” Alan asked as Don headed back into the foyer to grab his file off the table. 

“A mother and her eight year old daughter, kidnapped.” Don informed heading into the living room with his file. 

“That’s horrible,” Alan declared. 

“This is the same case with the car key code thing?” I asked. 

“Yeah” Charlie replied with a nod as the three of us stood to follow Don into the living room. I brought my book and slice of cake with me. 

“Who took them?” Gramps questioned. 

“I don’t know yet” Don explained sitting on the couch “I mean, we got this one suspect who’s a bookie, and we think there’s some connection, but we got these files off his computer, and they’re impossible to analyze” 

“What are you looking for in here?” Charlie questioned, going to look over the file Don offered him as I sat on the couch next to my father. . 

“Well, I mean, the people who financed the operation.” Don explained “this guy’s been running bets through a website called Statswire that dead-ends at a URL in China. And with all the money he’s pulling in and paying out, we can’t tell the difference between the backer and bettors.” 

“Well these abbreviations may be names and dates” Uncle C suggested looking the file over “but the numbers in this column here 35-17-11” he muttered as Gramps went to look over his shoulder. “23-17-5, 24-12-3 ½? Yeah I’m assuming that they’re part of some sort of odds making, but they just appear to be at random and they can’t be.” 

“You’re right. They’re not random” Alan voiced as I shifted my cake away from my thieving father. 

“What are you talking about?” Don inquired. 

“Where’s that paper?” Alan muttered standing up and going over to a stake of newspapers “this weekend’s football scores.” he stated grabbing the paper he was looking for and coming back over as we all huddled over the file to look. “Let me see. 35-17-11 here.” he pointed to the newspaper “the Packers beat the Vikings 35-17, and the spread was 11”

“Whoa” Don murmured. 

“Nice catch Gramps” I said with a slight smirk. 

“Thank you. 23-17-5. That here, Niners in San Diego, five-point spread, right?” Alan found another “24 to 12 was the Jaguars over the Colts. Huh?” 

“Let me see that” Don took the paper and looked it over. 

“3 ½ was a ridiculous spread” Gramps commented “I took the Jaguars and made a hundred bucks”

“What, you have a bookie?” Don questioned his father in surprise. 

“Busted” I murmured. 

“Should I have a lawyer present?” Alan replied. 

“No, I’ll let you slide.” Don murmured looking back over the paper. As I chuckled lightly.

“Wait a minute. If this column is the point spread, I can use it to calculate the ratio of winners to losers” Charlie explained “and potentially trace the payouts and the money flow.” 

“Yay teamwork” I murmured. 

“Says the girl who sat there eating cake the entire time” Don pointed out. I just shrugged with a smirk.  
_________________  
**3rd POV.**

Don got out of his car with a sigh. He was relieved that she had at least thought to text him this time. As he made his way across the grass to his daughter she glanced up at him before her eyes became fixated on the ground. 

He sat down next to her in front of the head stone. After a moment of silence he finally spoke “what’s wrong?” 

“Why do you assume something’s wrong?” Abby replied, still not looking up at him and she fiddled with her blinders in her hand. 

“Because I know you well enough now to know when something’s bothering you” he replied softly. Abby shifted but didn’t speak. “You know if you don’t want to have a party or something for your birthday that’s fine. It’s okay if you don’t even want to celebrate it but I’d like to know why” he explained. 

“It’s not that I don’t want to celebrate it” Abby objected. “It’s just-” she took a shaky breath “I suddenly have people to celebrate with and I’ve never had that before because-” she cut off. 

“Because what?” Don encouraged.

She took another deep breath “last year we sat here and I told you how much I love and miss my mom now I’m sitting here and- and I’m just mad at her. I’m mad because she didn’t tell you about me. Didn’t let us meet sooner because I spent nearly sixteen years of my life not knowing you, or Grandpa, or Uncle C and because I want to have that stupid barbecue with you guys and I wish I could have had that sooner but-” Abby cut off again and cheek rolled down her cheek. “I’m never going to see her again and all I am is mad at her” 

Don wrapped a gentle arm around Abby pulling her closer. “Listen Abby, the last year of my life spent with you has been an incredible time. We’ve gotten to know each other and despite some preconceived notions I haven’t managed to screw up being a dad too bad. Right?” Abby scoffed at the last statement sniffing back her tears. “That said I was a very different person years ago when I met your mother. And the truth is I don’t know if I could have been the father I would have wanted to be to you all those years ago. Heck I’m not even sure I’m the father I want for you right now.” he bit his lip pausing before he continued “not having you in my life all these years… it hurt and when I found out honestly I was mad too but- but I know your mother loved you Abbs and she only did what she did. She only kept this secret because she loved you and she thought it was the best for you.” 

“I know” Abby sighed.

“And now we do have each other and the rest of my crazy family,” he muttered making her laugh a little. “It’s me and you kid and I’m not going anywhere” 

“Thanks dad” she murmured sniffing back tears “but I’m still mad” 

“I know” Don murmured pulling Abby into a hug “but I’m sure you’ve been mad at your mom before. She can take it and one day you’ll figure out how to forgive her, trust me.”


	16. Letters

“When you said that you purchased a new car, this isn’t exactly what I was picturing” Charlie pointed out as we approached Larry’s new classic. 

“I don’t think any of us were,” I murmured. 

“Oh, I know.” Larry said, rubbing his face with his hands “I guess it was a little impulsive of me, right?” 

“Very Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” Amita commented. 

“Nice car, Dr. Fleinhardt” we turned at the new voice to see Megan approaching. “Is it new?” 

“Well, only in the sense that it’s newly in my possession” Larry explained. 

“And it’s like, a ‘32?” the agent inquired. 

“Uh ‘31, actually” the professor corrected. “Dawn of an amazing decade: F.D.R., Jesse Owens, Dirac’s prediction of antiparticles.” me, Amita, and Charlie exchanged looks as the man continued to speak “Yeah, our souls were rekindled.”

“I can’t help but see it as 70-year-old technology,” Charlie stated as Megan went around the other side of the vehicle to get a better look. 

“What do you have no sense of nostalgia?” I asked. 

“Yes, but also one of practicality” my uncle objected. 

“You’re just jealous because you can’t drive a stick shift,” Larry told Charlie with a grin. 

“Hey you can’t beat automatic transmission with cruise control.” Uncle C stated. 

“Charlie tells us you’re looking for Skylar Wyatt’s stalker.” Amita spoke to Megan before I could get my next sarcastic comment out.

“Yeah, her security video didn’t pick up his image.” the agent explained “and I understand that camera placement is done by math formulas? Well, whoever designed it probably isn’t as good as you, so maybe you’ll find something they missed” she handed Charlie a disc. 

“Larry, a more modern pursuit” Charlie declared. 

“Okay” Larry chuckled following Charlie off toward his office.   
_____________  
I chopped down on another spoonful of cereal as I read my book sitting cross-legged in a chair by the window. “Chvatal’s Art Gallery Theorem?” Charlie proposed. 

Larry ripped a piece of tape off with his mouth as he stood up. “That would assume a simple polygon, though, wouldn’t it?” he pointed out. 

“Polygons” Charlie grumbled. 

“Wow” Alan exclaimed coming into the dining room from the kitchen “I was wondering why we had no cereal left or anything else that was in the cupboard” 

“I didn’t let all of it go to waste” I pointed out holding up my bowl so Gramps could see it. 

He nodded slightly, his eyes on the cardboard structure Larry and Charlie had constructed on the table. “What in the world..” 

“I needed the cartons,” Charlie explained “we’re building a replica of Skylar Wyatt’s house. We’re checking the positioning of her security cameras for a blind spot.” 

“Why didn’t you just go to the house and use that?” Alan inquired. 

“Well, as part of this test, we need to be able to manipulate these walls so as to determine what types of angles would be possible under different scenarios” Charlie informed. “That’ll help us calculate these potential blind spots.” 

“And for some reason, they won’t let us move the walls of the actual house,” Larry muttered. 

“How inflexible of them,” Alan quipped looking over the replica. 

“Like you could even move the walls” I muttered around a bite of cereal turning the page of my book. 

“What is, uh” Alan walked around Larry to the other side of the replica “what are those?” he pointed to two little black marks on the board. 

“That’s where the FBI found two footprints,” Uncle C answered. 

“Ah. What conclusions have you come up with?” Alan asked.

“Polygons are annoying” I offered sarcastically as Charlie shook his head. 

“For some reason,” Larry said, picking up one of the clips that was supposed to be a camera “we have too many cameras.” 

“That’s probably because neither one of you can read a blueprint” Alan muttered. Heading over to where the blueprints were stacked and putting on his glasses. “Let me just take a look at this.” his eyes bounced from the replica to the blueprints for a moment “now, you see here, you got the slide door in the wrong place, and the dimension of the parapet is wrong. It’s too high. Let me fix it for you.” he picked up a pair of scissors and started cutting. 

“I-I feel like I’m in the fifth grade again” Charlie scoffed “remember, uh remember, Dad, when we did that show box thing?” 

“Yeah the diorama” Alan agreed. 

“Right” Charlie smiled. 

“Of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address” gramps explained. “Yeah, your mother and I were so happy to be able to help you out with anything school-related that you conned us into doing the whole thing for you” 

“I- hey! What are you..? I helped calculate the aspect ratios so we could get the depth effect right” Charlie objected.

“Yeah, and certainly aspect ratios were the key to perhaps the greatest oratory ever written” Larry muttered sarcastically as I chuckled and Charlie waved a hand at him in dismissal. 

“There it is” Alan declared, holding up the properly cut parapet. “Right size” 

“Every entry and exit point seems to be covered in this array” Charlie voiced looking the replica over “the cameras should have seen him” 

“Okay, well forgive me if I seem overly reductive here, but how do we know anyone was actually in this house?” Larry questioned. 

“Well, you had that celebrity, right?” Alan pointed out “she said she saw him” 

“People can lie” I cautioned. 

“Right. But there are also these footprints, guys.” Charlie objected. “I mean, this isn’t, uh, Sasquatch.” 

“Must be something wrong with the cameras” Gramps declared. 

“Hacked? Or bad maintenance?” I suggested. 

“They were all functioning” Charlie informed, putting his hands over his head and beginning to pace around the table. 

“Well, maybe, there’s something wrong with the way they function.” Alan muttered. 

“Okay, let’s remember: the human eye can only detect color within a certain narrow range of the spectrum. Now a camera, which replicates the ability of the human eye, is just as limited if not more so.” Larry mused. 

“You’re right” Charlie declared leaning down “the camera’s an eye and eyes don’t see everything” 

“So instead of Sasquach a ghost?” I asked sarcastically as I took another bite of cereal.  
____________  
“You’ve got to drive it more Larry” Amita stated as me, her, and the guys walked through campus. “I mean, you just take it to campus then bring it home” 

“That car deserves the open road, Fleinhardt.” Charlie agreed. 

“And it’ll make you look cool driving down the street” I pointed out. 

“But the very thought of staining that perfect finish with sooty exhaust,” Larry objected “exposing it to the negligence of some Humvee driver on a cell phone” 

“All right, Larry, it’s a car” Uncle C insisted “It’s whole function is to transport you from point A to point B” 

“See, this is the philosophical schism” Larry declared “between a student of applied science and a student of the cosmos. For me aesthetic beauty is its function enough.” 

“Or that’s just the excuse of a nervous physics professor” I quipped from the other side of my Uncle who chuckled slightly. 

“Well, the aesthetic beauty of the sun is that it works,” Amita pointed out “not just that it’s bright” 

“Hell of a point” Charlie agreed as we approached the car in question. 

“Well, maybe it’s more art than a machine” Larry suggested leaning on the vehicle. 

“Yeah and arts meant to be displayed” I stated. 

“Hey, Megan” Amita called in greeting and I turned to see my father’s partner approaching. 

“Hey, guys” she replied. 

“Hey. Uh, you’re here for the photo enhancement.” Charlie inferred “it’s um it’s still, you know, enhancing” he stammered. 

“No, I’m here for FISH” she replied. 

“The aquatic creature or handwriting analysis thing?” I asked with a slight smirk. 

Charlie chuckled lightly putting a hand on my shoulder “I’m positive she’s referring to the Forensic Information System for Handwriting” he then turned back to her however Megan’s gaze was fixated on Larry’s car “All I’ll say is that I helped develop an algorithm for the secret service, uh, based on segmentation, or writing elements, that are considered to be in isolation, such as whole words or words separated by pen lifts-” 

She held up a hand her attention returning to the mathematician “at the moment, we’re not having a lot of luck with it.” Megan explained. 

“Yeah, I’ve always thought that we missed something in the development of the software” Charlie informed “so I’m going to take another crack at it. What do you say?” 

“I thought you’d never ask,” Megan murmured. She handed over a stack of papers she’d been holding “thanks Charlie” she then headed over to the car to give it a look as I craned my neck over my Uncle’s shoulder. 

He quickly shifted the papers away from me “oh come on Uncle C I’m just looking” I complained

“Maybe but with you Just looking normally turns to just tinkering and then just tinkering becomes just helping and just helping turns into Don mad at me” Charlie grumbled. 

“Hey well it’s not like he can ground you” I muttered.   
_________________  
I finally finished setting up my new laptop with a happy sigh leaning back on the couch. Gramps had bought me it for a late birthday present. He’d figured I’d need one for school now that I was in college. It definitely helped. The reason it was late was because he had to get Amita’s advice on which was the best. I was very happy with the choice. 

I was jogged from my thoughts by a knock on the door. I closed my laptop and got up. Charlie and Gramps were both in the garage right now so it was up to me to get the door. I opened it and was somewhat surprised to see a man standing there in a suit with short dirty blonde hair. 

He looked equally as surprised to see I’d answered the door “uh, is this the Eppes house?” he asked. 

“Yeah” I replied hesitantly “who are you?” 

“Uh,” he reached in his pocket and pulled out his wallet. “Agent Colby Granger I work with Don he sent me over to check on Charlie’s work see if he’s got anything”

“Oh okay” I murmured, getting a good look at the badge before allowing him in. “him and Gramps are in the garage. I’ll show you” I closed the door behind us and started leading him through the house. 

“So, uh, who are you again?” Granger inquired. 

“I’m Abby. Don’s daughter” I informed him. 

“Don has a kid?” Granger muttered in shock as we exited the back door. 

“Obviously” I replied. Showing him into the garage. “Uncle C we got a visitor” I announced, leading Agent Granger into the garage. 

“Charlie, hey” Granger greeted my Uncle with a smile and handshake then turned to Gramps “Mr. Eppes, nice to see you.” 

“Well hey” Alan exclaimed in greeting. 

“So Don sent me down here to check and see how the handwriting analysis was going” Granger informed. 

“I was just telling my father that we failed to have the FISH program take into account that the shape of an individual letter varies depending on where it’s place in a word” Charlie explained “you write and ‘O’ different;y is there’s an ‘S’ placed in front of it Accounting for that, I found some interesting things out about these letters that we didn’t expect” Charlie lead the agent over to one of his chalkboards as I cleared a little space and hopped up to sit cross legged on the desk in the center of the room next to my grandfather. 

“All right what was that?” Granger asked. 

“Hey, look at this” Gramps spoke up before the agent could get his answer “this letter was an original” he pulled a pink piece of paper from a stack on the desk “Hey, Charlie, they let you handle actual evidence?” 

“Give that to me” Charlie snapped quickly. 

“Wait, there shouldn’t be originals,” Granger objected “you should only have copies.” 

“Actually, that’s not one of Skylar Wyatt’s letters,” Charlie explained. 

“Yeah, I know. It’s addressed to you” Alan said. 

“Then why did you ask if it was evidence?” I inquired but went ignored. 

“Is that lavender I smell?” Gramps asked, sniffing the card.

“Yes, lavender” Charlie muttered uncomfortably, plucking the card from his father’s hands. 

“Nice, Charlie” Granger chuckled then his phone rang. “I got to take this, I'll be right back” the agent shuffled out of the room. 

“So who’s it from?” Alan inquired. 

“I hope not anybody I know” I muttered. Then thought about it for a minute “unless it’s Amita” 

“Who the hell knows?” Charlie exclaimed exasperatedly “it’s not signed.” 

“Not signed?” Alan questioned “since when does a college professor receive anonymous fan letters?” 

“You kidding?” Charlie asked, seeming a little surprised at the question “Richard Feynman was a stud. He got marriage proposals by the dozen. Einstein was a true sex symbol.” 

“Charlie, don’t you think that’s from Amita?” Alan inquired. 

“That’s what I want to know,” I declared. 

“Actually, um, no” Charlie admitted “because I already compared it to her writing” 

“Oh” me and Alan both exclaimed in annoyance. 

“So the old FISH system is inefficient” Grange spoke up getting off his phone “but it kicked out a name, Lawrence Pike. His handwriting matches the stalker’s” 

“Okay, that’s all good but-” 

“But the problem is this guy’s been in jail in Utah for the last three months” Granger cut Charlie off “so he can’t be the stalker” 

“Which is exactly what I was about to tell you” Charlie explained “the same person did not write all of these letters” he walked around the desk again leading Granger back to the chalkboard they’d started at “my analysis say there’s a first writer and a copycat”   
_________________________  
“I can’t retrofit a 1931 car with seat belts,” Larry objected. 

“Why not?” Alan asked. 

“Because it’s not authentic to the period” Larry explained as we walked through the school campus. 

“What I meant was, it’s authentic to this period” Alan pointed out. 

“It’s totally physics Larry” Charlie stated “I mean, without a seat belt, you could get hurt even in a minor accident” 

“Car accidents shouldn’t be taken lightly” I declared, trying to keep my voice light. 

“Abby is right” Alan agreed placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder “you could get badly hurt” 

“Look, if I'm in an accident in that car, I hope I don’t survive,” Larry declared. 

“Well isn’t that a bit dramatic” I scoffed. Swallowing the small lump in my throat and infringing memories. 

“Look, it’s a love affair, me and that car” the physicist explained “with affairs of the heart you know, sometimes common sense gets thrown out the window.”

“Yeah, or through the windshield” Alan muttered. I shifted uncomfortably and he shot me a concerned look. 

“Hey, speaking of affairs of the heart,” Larry redirected the conversation thankfully onto Charlie “did you ever find out who sent you that anonymous note?” 

“Oh, yeah, I was wondering about that.” Gramps agreed. 

“Student or teacher?” I asked curiously. 

“No, not yet” Charlie muttered. 

“I think we should run a handwriting analysis against the school’s records office,” Larry suggested. 

“You know what? I’ve decided I don’t need to know” Uncle C declared. 

“Oh, yes, you do” Alan objected. 

“Whoever it was they chose not to sign it,” Charlie explained “maybe because they’re just not ready to tell me.” 

“Well, I think that’s very wise” Larry murmured “let your life retain some mystery” 

“Yeah, or the poor student forgot their name and thinks you're ignoring them now” I muttered pessimistically which earned me a look from my uncle. 

“Yeah. Besides, you haven’t figured out what to do with the girl you already know about” Alan pointed out. We all nodded before continuing our walk down the path.


	17. Kid Stuff

Don knew he was handling things differently. Every case that involved kids was bad however, he could feel them hitting him a little deeper now. Lucinda Shay was a single mother just like Janice had been and when he saw her son at the crime scene all he could think of was what Abby must have gone through when she was alone after her mom died. 

Despite this he had to stay focused on the case, keep his emotions in check, that was the only way they were going to catch the killer and get justice for Lucinda and Daniel. He entered the office and spotted Charlie standing out like a curly headed traffic cone dressed in orange with David and Colby who were grey and white suits. 

Don quickly made it over to his brother “hey, thanks for coming” he gave Charlie a pat on the shoulder. 

“No problem” 

“Hey did the kid see anything?” David asked, gesturing toward where Megan was sitting with Daniel playing cards. 

“Well, if he did, he’s not saying anything.” Don replied. 

“I didn’t know Lucinda Shay had a kid” Charlie voiced. 

“Yeah little boy named Daniel” Don explained pointing to show Charlie who looked back letting sadness drift into his eyes. “What? You knew her?” 

“I met her a few times.” Charlie explained “when the scandal first broke at the SEC, I was asked to examine the accounting related to Syntel’s offshore partnerships. She was very helpful” 

“Yeah” Colby murmured “well sweetheart plea bargain will do that for you” 

“You know I don’t think she knew what Syntel was doing at first but once she figured it out, she blew the whistle” Charlie informed “Was her son there when…?” 

“Yeah” Don murmured, cutting Charlie’s question off. 

“What can I do?” Charlie asked. 

“Well, we’re putting together a list of former employees and shareholders” Don explained “maybe you could narrow it down?” 

“I’ve already analyzed the company’s SEC filings. It’s a pretty good picture of who made money, who lost money.” Charlie explained. 

“All right, well, whatever you can do, we’d appreciate it,” Don said gratefully. 

“You got it,” Charlie agreed. 

“Thanks” Don murmured, patting his brother on the shoulder again as he headed over to where Megan was sitting with the boy. 

“What’s going to happen to her son?” Charlie questioned. 

“We don’t know” David admitted “she’s a single-parent mom. I’m trying to run down the father, any other relative, but, uh, so far no luck.” 

“You know after Abby’s mother died they were able to find Don” Charlie offered “I mean it took a couple months but, you could find someone for this boy” 

“We’ll be trying Charlie,” David reassured the mathematician. 

Meanwhile Don was knocking at the door of the sitting room Megan and Daniel were in. His partner looked up and he gestured for her to come and talk. She told Daniel she’d be right back before getting up and meeting Don outside of the room and earshot of the boy. 

“How’s he doing?” Don asked. 

Megan cleared her throat glancing back at the boy before turning to Don “there’s some blunt affect in response to the trauma.” she explained. 

“What’s that, like some kind of post traumatic shock kind of thing?” the man inquired. 

“A little” Megan informed “this is more immediate and hopefully it’s temporary. But he’s like an overloaded circuit. He’s just shut down right now.” 

“I’m going to need him to talk to us,” Don murmured ruefully. 

“I know that” the woman reassured glancing back at the boy “but he’s too fragile right now.” 

Don shrugged “I know, but if he knows who shot his mother-” 

“It’s exactly the problem” Megan clarified “he probably did, and he’s a little boy and he’s terrified. And if we push him too far now, we may never get what we need” 

“All right, all right” Don agreed, walking past Megan into the room and taking the seat across from the boy “hey Daniel” he greeted attempting to shake the twisting feeling in his gut and the thought of Abby. “I’m Don Eppes. Remember? From before?” he paused and the boy gave no indication of response he sighed “Look, I’m sorry about what happened to your mom, but-” he hesitated as Daniel shifted and grimaced slightly “I know how rough this must be for you, what- what you must be thinking.” He took a breath and glanced back out at the bullpen, the thought of a young alone Abby still pulling at the back of his brain thoughts of his own mother as well “Actually, you know, to be honest, I don’t know what you’re thinking. But I do know something about what you’re feeling.” he admitted “You know, not too long ago my mom died.” Daniel looked up at that but his eyes quickly flickered back to the table “yeah she was like the one person who had the right answer for everything. You know, I mean all the time. And then all of a sudden she was gone” Don took a deep breath “Here’s what I’m hoping. That you and I maybe could partner up. Maybe help each other out.” he paused, gauging the boy carefully before continuing “I need to know if you saw anything this morning, Daniel.” 

“No,” Daniel barely whispered, shaking his head. 

“You sure?” Don pressed carefully. 

“The doorbell rang,” Daniel voiced. 

“Mm-hmm and your mom answered it?” The agent inquired. Daniel nodded “did you hear any voices?” 

Daniel shook his head “just the gun” 

“What about after?” Don asked “Did you see anything, hear anyone?” Daniel shook his head looking down at the table again curling into himself. “All right, okay.” Don backed off “Hey, that’s a good start. Good job” 

“I want…” Daniel spoke up voice choked with emotion “I want her to come back” 

“Yeah” Don sighed, biting his lip “I know you do. Me, too.” 

As Don got up to leave gesturing for Megan to take his place sitting with the boy he wandered into the breakroom. He let off a large breath and reached for his phone on his belt. He wanted to call Abby and just hear her voice for whatever reason but a quick glance at his watch told him she’d be in class and unable to take his call. So he took another deep breath and replaced his phone on his belt before making for the coffee.  
___________________  
**Abby POV.**

I walked out of class with an annoyed groan. “Oh dear did Prof. Lisben assign another tedious reading exercise?” 

I looked up at the question to see Larry meandering down the hallway. “Essay” I explained “and I already have two others due for other classes” 

“Ah I see” Larry sighed as we began to walk down the hallway “quite the taxing conundrum” 

“I mean professors do realize that we have more classes than theirs, right?” I asked. 

“If they do I suppose they don’t care” Larry declared juggling the apple in his hand “such is the lot of the student I suppose” 

I hummed in agreement as we reached my uncle’s office and headed inside. He was working on the blackboard with his back to us as we entered. What looked to be some kind of tree-pruning algorithm. 

“Charles” Larry spoke calmly. Charlie about jumped out of his skin though. 

He let off a breath once he realized it was just us “I wish you wouldn’t do that” he muttered. 

“Boo” I shrugged. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry” Larry apologized “but why are you splitting a tree-pruning algorithm?” 

“I’m trying to reduce a cumbersome set of variables to a common point” Uncle C explained as I headed over to one of the various chairs in the office and sat down. 

“Okay, well, a bit of pruning I understand” Larry said “but why divide it into subsets?” 

“Because I’m dealing with different groups of suspects each with almost opposite motives for committing the same crime” Charlie informed. 

“Ah, so an FBI case” I voiced. 

“Yes, Don asked for my help” Charlie informed “one set lost money and wants revenge. The others made money and wants to keep it.” 

“Oh, this is about Syntel Corp.” Larry deduced coming closer. 

“How do you know that?” Charlie questioned, surprised. 

“What’s a Syntel Corp?” I asked. 

“A large corporation that was caught with a fraud scandal not long ago” Charlie explained. 

“Oh” I nodded in realization.

“I heard about the Chief Financial Officer being killed.” Larry informed “you might recall I lost a considerable investment in Syntel” 

“Yeah? Well, you got an alibi for this morning?” Charlie joked. Larry let out a breath “I’m kidding” Charlie chuckled and I smirked. 

“Ah don’t be too quick to dismiss me as a suspect” the physicist objected. 

“Why, how much you lose?” Uncle C inquired, exchanging a concerned glance with me. 

“175,000” Larry sighed. 

“Dollars?” Charlie questioned in surprise. 

“No euros” I muttered and earned a small glare from my uncle. 

“Look, in my defense, I didn’t count on being defrauded,” Larry pointed out. 

“Oh wow, well, are you okay, financially?” Charlie asked. 

Larry scoffed “well let’s just say the words ‘publish or perish’ have taken on a brand-new meaning. But, yeah, I mean, fortunately, I’ve hedged my bets on Google.” 

“Well help me then” Charlie voiced, turning back to the chalkboard and I swiveled in my seat to get a look as well. “I’ve, uh, I’ve got to combine two different groups of suspects,” Uncle C explained, raising up the front of his chalkboard. “According to monetary incentives and risk/reward ratios”

“So we need to rank them according to their motive for committing the murder” Larry clarified. 

“While also taking into account what might deter them from choosing murder verses another path hence the risk/reward” I added. 

“That’s right,” Charlie agreed. 

“Okay, what do these variables here express?” Larry inquired, pointing past Charlie at an equation on the chalkboard. I craned my neck to see the board around my uncle. 

“Well, I derived them from the bankruptcy data.” Charlie informed “I assigned probability values to motives according to the suspects’ current circumstance.”

“Current circumstances?” Larry questioned confused “like what, where are they now or..?”

“Right” Charlie nodded. 

“Okay,” Larry murmured, pacing around the younger professor. As we all thought on the problem. “Charles” Larry finally voiced after a moment and my uncle hummed in response. “Just as a thought experiment” the physicist paused and Charlie nodded for him to continue as I sat forward in my seat “what if you didn’t know the story of the Garden of Eden?” 

“Adam and Eve” Charlie muttered as Larry gestured to the apple in his hand. 

“What does this have to do with the creation of the world?” I inquired confused. 

“It’s just a thought experiment, let me explain” Larry advised me and I nodded “let's say you met them after they were exiled from Eden. Now, as they both suffer equally under the same punishment, how would you know which of them had taken the bite from the forbidden fruit?” 

“But they both-” 

“Shhh shhh shhh thought experiment” Larry hushed me as the cogs in Charlie’s brain began to turn. 

“The outcome doesn’t provide enough information to discern the inputs” Charlie deduced “if I really want to figure out who’s guilty I’ve got to reconstruct the original fraud at Syntel” 

“Precisely” Larry concluded “you’ve got to go back to the apple” the man took a large bite of his snack. 

Charlie turned back to his chalkboard and began working again at a dizzying rate. Meanwhile Larry meandered back over to my side of the desk. “You know people are always so hard on Eve but Adam was just as bad if not worse” I voiced. 

“What’s that?” Larry questioned. 

“Well Eve had to deal with the literal devil Adam just had to say no to a naked woman” I pointed out. Larry made a humming noise as his eyebrows rose on his head and he practically nodded with his hands.  
________________________  
**3rd POV.**

Don sighed as Charlie headed out of the room and his eyes scanned the bullpen landing on Daniel who was at a desk with his meager bag of belongings. “How’s our kid doing?” he asked Megan, eyes still on the boy. 

“Uh, I guess he’s a little better, but you know,” she let off a breath “how would any of us be doing in his situation?” 

“Yeah” Don sat down next to her “any word from family services?” 

“There is no father in the picture” Megan explained “and we found a grandmother in” she reached for a pad of paper where she had written a note down “Bethany, Oklahoma. She has a heart condition and she can’t fly.”

“So what happens to him?” Don inquired looking over to see an agent talking nicely to the boy. 

“Well, tonight he’s going to go to this group home.” Megan informed. 

Don felt his stomach drop “oh come on you’ve got to be kidding me” he stated “I mean, that’s a nightmare. You know what those homes are like Abby’s social worker said she was put in one after her mom died. And- and she hated it” 

“I know” Megan defended “but I called WITSEC and they won’t put a minor into custody without a court order. And you know what? It’s not really any better than a group home is, anyway.” 

“I know, but I just don’t want him to get twisted around, till whatever chance we have of getting what he knows is gone.” Don explained trying to keep his emotions in check and make a logical argument. He had to stop thinking about Abby on this case.

“Well, I don’t like this at all,” Megan agreed “but I’m not set up to take care of a kid and you can barely handle the one you have” 

“Thanks” Don muttered but knew she was right. 

“What are we supposed to do?” Megan asked and Don looked back out at the kid, an idea coming to mind. 

“Charlie has an extra room at his house” he voiced. 

“Seriously? Charlie?” Megan asked skeptically. 

“Well my dad’s there and Abby is staying over to so-” he gestured vaguely with his hand. 

“Okay” Megan nodded “I guess it’s something” 

“Yeah” Don muttered. He watched the kid for a moment longer.

“Don” his partner finally broke the silence with a tone that made him turn to look at her eyes and he could tell she was profiling him. “If you keep acting like this case isn’t hitting you differently you’re not going to handle it properly” she declared.

Don’s eyebrows knit together “I’m not- I just-” he cut off at her look. 

“That boy reminds you of Abby. You said it yourself a second ago that Abby was in the system after her mom died and before they found you as her guardian.” Megan voiced “it’s okay if it gets to you.” 

“Yeah” Don sighed. Knowing she was once again right.  
_______________________  
**Abby POV.**

I gasped as my eyes scanned over the page of the book I was reading. “What?” Gramps asked mildly concerned as he sat reading in his chair. 

“Plot twist- I- neh-” I ended up just making a weird noise and waving him off as I continued reading the story. 

“Okay then” I heard the man mutter then there was noise from further in the house. 

“Charlie that you?” Alan called. 

“No, Dad, it’s me” my father’s voice replied. “Hey Abby” he called in greeting and I waved in his general direction. My eyes still transfixed on the story in my hand. 

“Donnie. What are you doing here so late?” Alan questioned “I thought Abby would be spending the night and dinner’s been put away already” 

“She is and I don’t need dinner.” he paused “look-” 

“If you’re looking for Charlie he’s not here yet” Gramps informed. 

“Actually, I think I can talk to you” Don explained “I mean I’m sure he’ll be okay with it, but..” Don trailed. 

“And who is this?” I heard Alan inquire and finally looked up to see a boy standing in the foyer looking around a bag hung on his shoulder. 

“This is Daniel.” Don introduced. 

“He’s not my brother is he?” I asked and both men gave me a look.  
________________  
I sat a plate of PB&J down in front of Daniel as Alan and Don talked in the other room. The boy immediately picked it up to start eating. Once Don had explained what was happening I felt bad for the kid and my previous joke. This kid and I actually had a lot in common. 

“Thanks” he murmured after a moment. 

“No problem” I replied with a small smile. Then paused “I’m sorry about your mom. I lost my mom too and I know it hurts” 

He looked up at me in a little surprise “you lost your mom?” 

“Yeah and I didn’t know my dad back then either.” I explained “so I know it can be scary when you don’t have anybody but I know my dad now and I know he’ll work to get your mom justice at least okay?” 

The boy nodded slightly and I looked up to see Don coming over. “Hey buddy” he greeted Daniel taking a seat. “she makes a pretty good sandwich, huh?” he asked, sharing a glance with me. 

“Mom’s is better,” Daniel stated. 

“Yeah” Don nodded “yeah, I’m sure that’s true” 

“I was thinking about what you asked me,” Daniel explained hesitantly “you know, about what I saw?” 

“Uh-huh,” Dad murmured, encouraging the boy to continue. 

“There was a car” Daniel informed “After I heard the gunshot, I looked out the window.” 

“Do you remember what kind of car it was?” Don questioned carefully. 

“It was black or blue, maybe” Daniel offered thinking “big but not as big as an SUV.”

“You think if I showed you some pictures, maybe you’d remember?” Don suggested “I mean, you just have to do the best you can. It’s uh..” he trailed losing the words. 

“So did you find them?” Daniel asked after a moment. 

“Who?” Don questioned. 

“The people who killed my mom” the boy stated. 

“Why do you think-” Don pressed confused as I looked at the boy in surprise “I mean, are you remembering something?” 

“They were talking” Daniel explained “at your office” a sad and guilty expression befell my father’s face as the boy continued “they said there are, like, 6,000 people who wanted to kill my mom.” 

“Oh, no, no, no” Don quickly objected “oh, no that’s not, that’s not… I think the thing is, um, you know, sometimes when we don’t know who the bad guys are, we start with a really big list. And, uh, it doesn’t mean everyone on it wanted to hurt your mom. I mean, in fact, I really think we’re probably just looking for one person.”

“Where am I gonna sleep?” Daniel asked, changing the topic. 

“Uh, I thought I’d put you up in my room” Don suggested giving me a look to tell me I would not be staying in the room I normally held in the house. “How’s that?” 

“Where will you sleep?” Daniel inquired looking confused. 

“Oh, I don’t live here anymore, it’s from when I was a kid” Don explained. “Abby stays in it when she sleeps here. It’s a pretty good room. I think you’ll like it.” 

“But you’re gonna stay right?” the boy clarified “you’re not gonna leave?” 

Don looked back at the boy’s worried gaze before replying “uh, yeah, I can stay, sure” he agreed. “Yeah, you got it.”  
__~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_  
_**3rd POV.**_

_Abby blinked her eyes open. There was a figure looking down at her. She was laying down. There was a mask on her face and cool air was coming from it. Everything seemed hazy. She was looking up at the night sky. There were a lot of moving figures at the edge of her vision and she smelled smoke._

_“My mom” Abby tried but the words were quieter and hard to get out “where’s my mom?” Hadn’t they just been driving a second ago? How had she gotten here? She couldn’t remember. That started her heart to beat faster and her breathing picked up. She always remembered. Why couldn’t she remember what just happened?_

_“Hey you’re awake” the person above her, who was still little more than a blur, spoke comfortingly. “Try to stay calm. What’s your name?”_

_“Abby” the girl replied softly, a sharp pain stabbing her side “where’s my mom?” she grunted through the pain._

_“I don’t know Abby but we’re going to get you to the hospital” the person replied. She tried to sit up but her back wouldn’t move. The only responsive part of her body seemed to be her arm and when she lifted it up she could see the blood covering it. “Abby?” She heard the person but they were muffled as her arm fell and the hazy darkness consumed her vision again._  
_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_  
**Abby POV.**

I gasped awake sitting up in bed and putting a hand to my mouth half expecting the oxygen mask to still be there. I took a couple deep breaths as the memory faded and looked around. I was in the guest room of Charlie’s house. And according to the clock on the nightstand it was the middle of the night. 

I took another deep breath and sighed getting up. It figured that everything going on with Daniel would stir up my memories of my mother’s death. I opened the door to the room quietly and carefully krept down the hallway and stairs. I was cutting through the foyer heading for the kitchen when the light flicked on behind me and I whirled around. 

Don was sitting up on the couch giving me a disgruntled and questioning look. “I was just getting a glass of milk,” I informed at a whisper. 

The man sighed and looked at his watch. “Why so late?” 

I shrugged “couldn’t sleep” 

“Nightmare?” 

“Sort of” 

Don sighed and started to get up. “Yeah I could use some milk too” he stated and we both headed into the kitchen. I hopped up to sit on the counter as my father got two mugs and filled them with milk. “My mom always said if you heat it up it helps you sleep” he informed. 

“Actually, while milk does have trace amounts of tryptophan which is used within the brain to make serotonin and melatonin. It’s been tested and proven that milk doesn’t help you sleep better. Heated or not. It’s just relaxing” I explained. Don gave me a look as he placed the mugs in the microwave. “Sorry” 

Don sighed pressing the button to start the microwave and turning to me. “It’s fine at this point I’m used to the random fact dropping in the house” 

“Fair enough” I smirked. There was a quiet moment when neither of us spoke and the kitchen was only filled with the sound of the microwave humming. 

“Listen Abby-” Don started hesitantly but then was cut off by the sudden beeping of the microwave that made us both jump. He sighed, removing the two steaming mugs and handing me mine so I could blow on it softly. “Abby” he started again “I wanted to ask you, ab- about when you were in foster care” he stated. I looked at him a little confused over the top of my mug. “It’s just Megan mentioned something today and you know Daniel was almost sent to a group home before I offered to watch him and uh- you never really talk about your experience so-” 

“Dad” I cut off the man’s rambling. “It’s okay,” I reassured him, feeling comfortable at least talking about that side of my history. “I wasn’t there long to be honest. It was just one house I’d been in the hospital for two week after the accident because of the my injuries and uh, yeah the mom was mean, the dad was ignorant, the daughter was a brat, and the son was a perv” Don choked on his milk slightly at the last but Abby kept talking “I was there for about a month before I ran away.”

“A month?” Don questioned, perplexed. “But I thought it was a whole six months before you came to live with me after Janice died”

“It was” I nodded “I just spent most of it on the streets” Don blinked at me in shock. I had figured my social worker had already told Don that. “It’s not that big a deal” I spoke quickly “i’m fine” 

“Yeah but you were really homeless for five months?” the man exclaimed. 

I shrugged, pushing away the thoughts of a dancing girl with red hair, an old abandoned apartment building, an underpass, an old house with loud music and a smiling boy on a table. “It was just another season of my life” 

Don sighed taking a drink from his mug “you’re too young to have season to your life”

“Maybe” I murmured holding my warm mug with both hands “but it made me who I am today so, not all bad” 

A girl with flaming red hair was spinning dancing to the music as lights flickered around her and people bounced and swayed to the music. She took my hand and pulled me up onto the coffee table twirling me around and we laughed. 

I blinked away the memory, the smile fading from my face as Don straightened from where he had been leaning on the counter opposite me. He placed his mug in the sink “well we should try and get some sleep” 

“Yeah” I nodded hopping off the island countered and heading back to my room with my still half filled mug. “Goodnight” I called as I reached the steps and Don made it to the couch. 

“Goodnight” he called in reply.  
________________  
“... look I couldn’t get ahold of you, so I asked him, and he said it would be okay.” Don was telling his brother as I came downstairs in the morning. 

“Okay for what?” Charlie questioned. 

“For Lucinda Shay’s kid to stay here.” Don murmured checking his phone then spotting me coming over. 

“Of course, yeah, that’s fine.” Charlie replied a little surprised “Daniel Shay is upstairs” 

“I think he just got up” I informed the men who turned to me “I heard him head to the bathroom” 

“Look, I also need another favor” Don continued as he tucked in his shirt. “I got to get to the airport to see if I can catch up with Thomas Galway. You two think you can hang here till Dad gets back?” 

“You need me to baby-sit?” Charlie asked. 

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea to leave him here alone.” Don explained. 

“He’s eleven he doesn’t need that much babysitting Uncle C” I scoffed at the professor “you don’t have to look so scared” 

“I’m not- I’m not scared” Charlie objected adamantly. “Actually, I have a way with children, so..” 

“Oh, yeah?” Don asked skeptically and I raised a dubious eyebrow at the mathematician.

“Yeah. I’ve been told I do.” Uncle C insisted. 

“You positive there wasn’t sarcasm involved?” I questioned and earned a reproachful look from my Uncle. 

“It’s just for ten minutes,” Don interjected, grabbing his jacket and heading for the stairs “come on, I’ll introduce you.”  
________________  
“Hey Granger” I called as I approached my uncle’s office. 

The agent who had been standing in the doorway turned and smiled. “Hey Abby” I came up beside him and spied my uncle in the room working completely oblivious to his audience. “Does he always work like that?” Granger questioned seeming fascinated. 

“Nah, this is him more relaxed actually” I murmured. 

Granger scoffed and finally knocked on the door stepping fully into the office as I followed. “Charlie, Don sent me down to check and see what you got from the supercomputer,” he explained grabbing the professor’s attention.

Charlie hummed in disappointment “he must not have gotten my message” 

“I guess not” Granger murmured then looked into my uncle’s bowl of bubble gum “ooh, can I take one of these?” Charlie shrugged and the agent picked his candy as I went around to sit on the desk past the candy bowl. “Which message?” 

“There was a glitch in the data run” Charlie explained. “But- uh, can you just tell me which one you’re taking?” 

“This red one” Granger replied, holding up the candy and I scoffed as Charlie dug around for the data sheet for his little experiment. 

“That’s very interesting,” the mathematician informed, writing down the information. 

“Okay,” Granger muttered, shooting me a glance I just shrugged. “So, look how small is this glitch, because Megan profiled seven ex-employees, all who have the potential to be the killer.” The agent handed Charlie the file and I hopped off the man’s desk to peak over his shoulder and he shifted the file out of view. “And anything you have might help us take this guy down before he has a chance to shoot another Syntel exec.” 

“I think I have one of these names on my list, actually” Charlie voiced and I took a step to the side when I saw him grab the bottom of the chalkboard in order to flip it. “Yeah, Morton Standbury, but the probability of Morton’s guilt is less than ten percent” Charlie tried to explain but Granger was already getting out his phone “I mean, that’s hardly conclusive” 

“Great, thanks,” the agent murmured, giving a thumbs up and putting his phone to his ear as he headed out of the office “David, hey, it’s me. Listen, Megan was right on with her hunch. The Stanbury guy is a match” he gave one final wave before disappearing. 

“Success?” I questioned giving Charlie a look. He just hummed looking back at the board “on only ten percent”  
__________________  
**3rd POV.**

Alan smiled softly as Don got up from talking to Daniel. “What?” his eldest questioned as he passed him heading for the back door. 

“Nothing,” Alan shrugged following his son. “Uh you know actually,” he paused catching Don at the door. “You’ve just grown so much since, uh since Abby came along and uh, well I guess this boy is just bringing that out a bit.” 

Don let off a breath looking down to avoid Alan’s eye. “Well Abby changed a lot of things you know” he paused biting his lip “I’ll come by later” he murmured heading back out the door. Alan watched him go and nodded lightly.  
__~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_  
_“I have a granddaughter” Alan voiced in bewilderment as both his sons and him sat at the kitchen table. The older one hunched over and looking like he was in between ill and dazed._

_“I have a niece,” Charlie added just as shocked as his father._

_“I have a-“ Don hesitated to say it “I have a daughter.” He let out a large breath with the statement “I have a daughter I never even knew existed.” The man opened his mouth to speak more on it but found the words gone and ended up looking like a fish on land._

_“Well what are you going to do?” Charlie asked the big question._

_“He’s going to take her in.” Alan declared, looking to his eldest. “Aren’t you? ‘Cause if you don’t I will”_

_“Of- of course I’m going to take her in.” Don answered quickly “I just- I just-“ but the words wouldn’t come and the man simply stood up and left the room heading outside into the yard._

_Alan watched him go. Charlie rose slightly from his seat as if to follow him. The elder quickly raised a hand to stop him. “I’ll talk to him,” he declared getting to his feet._

_Alan headed outside to see Don pacing the yard back and forth. Running his hand through his hair and over his face._

_“Donnie” Alan spoke up to draw his son’s attention. “Talk to me”_

_“It- its nothing Dad I just need a minute” the son attempted._

_His father saw right through him. “Uh huh sure because finding out you're a father is nothing” the man stated sarcastically._

_Don stopped in his pacing and turned to look at his father. The elder man took a seat on the back steps. A couple seconds later Don staggered over to join him._

_“It’s just I have no idea what it is to be a father” Don admitted. “I mean my work is my life and I’m not in any type of relationship. I’ve never really even thought of kids b-“_

_“What? You think there’s a manual for this?” Alan cut his son off. “The day me and your mother brought you home I was more nervous and terrified than I had ever been in my life” Alan advised. “I also was far happier than I had ever been. You see, no father knows what they are doing; they figure it out along the way. They take from those who influenced them and they try to do what’s best for their kid.” He paused before adding “and pray they don’t mess them up to bad”_

_Don scoffed. Looking out at the yard. “Do you think I can be a good dad?”_

_Alan looked at his son with loving eyes. “I think you’re going to be the best Dad you possibly can and that with that you’ll be just fine”_

_Don smiled lightly. As his father pat him on the back. This however did little to quelch the nervous churning in his stomach._  
__~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_  
**Abby POV.**

“Do you have any idea what I could do with 300 million dollars?” Larry asked milling about Uncle C’s bookshelf as I sat on the floor doing homework and Uncle C worked on his computer at his desk. 

“Three hundred and twelve” Charlie corrected. “You said you were alright” 

“No, I am.” Larry assured “I was talking about my application for the Talis Foundation Research Grant” 

“Why are you worried about that?” Charlie asked. 

“Yeah weren’t you just bragging yesterday how you would smoke the competition and they’d be fouls not to choose you?” I asked. 

“I was but now Ivan Tsgorski has taken over the chairmanship of the grant committee” Larry explained coming over. 

“You attacked his theory on polarization flux” Charlie pointed out. 

I winced “oh that’s not good” 

“I merely pointed out certain characteristics of gravitational waves that he had chosen to ignore” the physicist defended. 

“Larry I was there when he gave that paper” Charlie reminded “and you stood up and you called him a big, fat cheater in front of a room full of people” 

I gaped up at the older professor “you did not?!” 

“Well, no. Now you’re exaggerating” Larry objected “that room could not have been more than half full” 

I scoffed in amusement at this discovery. “Might we get back on task?” Charlie interjected. “And you back to your homework” he peered over his desk at me. 

“You’re no fun Uncle C” I pouted. 

“Come on, that essay isn’t going to write itself meanwhile we have to solve a case” Charlie decreed, looking to Larry. 

“All right, okay,” Larry muttered, rubbing his face with the palm of his hands as he plopped into the seat in front of Charlie’s desk. “the money, the money, the money. The money is not where we thought it would be” 

“It should show up in the company’s cash flow statements, after the fraudulent transactions” Charlie explained as I attempted to focus on my mind numbing essay. 

“You know all these funds, they would have been transferred electronically, correct?” Larry voiced. 

“I imagine so,” Charlie agreed. 

“Electronic transactions” Larry stood up as he continued “have no mass and cannot be constrained in the manner of physical objects” 

“But they are bound by time, Larry,” Charlie pointed out. “And time only flows one way” 

“Please do not start a philosophical debate right now I am already bored out of my mind” I warned my uncle as the physicist wandered over toward the doors. Uncle Charlie sighed and gave me a look before Larry once again called our attention. 

“Are you aware you have standing water in this corner?” Larry asked crouching down at the space between the two doors. 

“I know about the leak” Charlie muttered with annoyance “I called maintenance” 

“And?” 

“And they’ve got to tear out the wall and find the source of the leak” Charlie explained getting up while I craned my neck to see what Larry was up to. I saw him pull up the carpet of the corner. “What is with you today Larry? All I ask is for a little focus. Now what are we missing?” 

“Patience” I muttered under my breath and Charlie let out an exasperated breath. 

“What are you doing?” he pestered the physicist who pulled out a pen. 

“Finding the leak,” Larry stated, snapping the pen and pouring the ink into the puddle. 

“Well, you’re making a mess” Charlie stammered as I got to my feet and came over to look over his shoulder. 

“Well by staining the currents we can observe the ink spread out on the pooled water,” Larry explained “and then figure out the flow pattern” we watched the ink move in the water drifting closer to the wall “and once we know how it flows… yeah, you see?” he pointed “it’s not coming down from the wall. It’s coming up from the floor” 

“That’s cool Larry,” I commented. 

“That’s it” Charlie muttered “we’re missing the flow”  
_________________  
I headed into the house quickly and was met with a lot of FBI. “What happened?” I asked approaching my uncle and father. 

“Daniel’s missing,” Don quickly informed. 

“What!?” 

“It’s okay, Mr. Eppes. We’re gonna find him” Megan was reassuring Gramps as she entered the room with him. 

“I went into the kitchen to get a couple of cans of soda for us.” Alan explained “he was standing over there, right by the table” Gramps pointed past me and Charlie as Don raised his hands to try and calm his father down. “He couldn’t have gotten away” 

“It’s not your fault. So could you please just calm down?” Don asked as me and Charlie headed over to the table. 

“I would have seen him,” Alan insisted. 

“You're not helping the situation Dad” Don sighed. 

I looked at the table that pretty much only held a phone and a couple magazines “could he have made a call?” I suggested. 

“Let’s see,” Charlie muttered, picking up the phone and hitting redial. 

“Hey, Don, give me a second.” Granger called walking in my father turned and spotted Charlie on the phone. “I just talked to David. He said he found something in the Syntel employment records.” 

“Hold on,” Dad ordered his agent and then turned to his brother who was now talking to the person on the phone “Charlie, you got to keep the line clear” then turned back to his agent “say what?” 

“Okay can you hold on a second” Charlie muttered into the phone then looked to Don “Dad said he saw him here. I hit redial. It’s National Cab Company.” 

“Cab? Why the hell would he take a cab?” Gramp questioned. 

“Running away?” I asked in confusion. 

“All right, I’m on the cab.” Granger declared heading out of the room. 

“Tell me if you get anything,” Don told him, his eyes lingering on me for a moment before a thought occurred to him and he jumped into action. “Megan, come with me. I think I know where he is.” with that he was heading from the house. 

“I hope he’s alright” Alan muttered. 

“Me too Gramps” I agreed.  
______________  
I waved alongside Charlie and Alan as Daniel waved goodbye from next to Don. “I liked the kid, shame he has to go” I muttered. 

Alan hummed “yes well the next stray we pick up you can look after” 

Charlie scoffed “admit it you liked having him around” 

“Yeah well” Alan sighed “having someone young in the house was a nice change of pace I suppose” 

I smiled as we watched Daniel give my father a hug. Don passed the boy off to a flight attendant at the door to the airport waving goodbye. “What?” he asked with a chuckle as he rejoined us. 

“My hope for grandchildren has been rekindled” Alan decreed and I gave him a look. 

“What am I chop liver?” 

“Grandchildren who I get to enjoy before they become angsty teenagers” Alan replied. 

“Ah” I scoffed. 

“Don’t start dad.” Don complained. 

“I’m not making a formal request, I’m simply saying it would be nice” Gramps explained. 

“Come on” Don muttered. 

“Dad you do realize how long the odds actually are for this man?” Charlie joked. 

“Charlie, what’s your problem, huh?” Don defended quickly as he pulled me into a side hug “I already contributed. You got nothing” 

“Wow now I’m a bragging point” I muttered sarcastically. 

“Well, given your dating pattern” Charlie argued “or absence of a dating pattern-” 

“Look, I wouldn’t talk if I were you, buddy” Don countered. 

“I’m crunching numbers, kid” 

“Oh yeah?” 

“Statistically I’m on course to be way ahead of you in the stable family environment for offspring” 

“Yeah, yeah, makes sense you’re older” Alan agreed as my father released me and we started walking. 

“I don’t see siblings in my future” I muttered jokingly. “Well anymore planned ones” 

“Hey, keep it up” Don muttered pulling his keys from his pocket “it’s a long walk home” 

Me, Alan, and Charlie all exchanged a look and bit our tongues following my father to the parking lot.


	18. Inevitability

I listened closely to what the professor was saying in class. Scribbling down every word he said to ensure I would remember it. It wasn’t hard thanks to my great AEM gift. I was half lost in thought when suddenly the professor said something that made me freeze.

“You’ll have to work in a pair of partners for this project…” 

I glanced around my class. It was a big room with a lot of people. My fellow classmates were all already partnering up with their friends. I however didn’t have a single friend in this class. Beyond just the age gap between me and my peers. I wasn’t the most social or open of people. Friends were a tricky thing for me to figure out. Meaning my odds of finding a partner for this project were not gre-

“Do you have a partner yet?” I turned as there was a voice that spoke up next to me. I looked over at the girl who was taking the seat next to me. She was smiling and looked just as awkward as I felt.

“Uh no” I muttered a little confused. 

“Well I'm kinda new and I don’t know anyone think maybe we could be partners?” she inquired. 

“Yeah sure” I agreed, mirroring her smile and feeling rather grateful.

“My name’s Nadia” she informed. 

“Abby,” I offered, we shook hands and then giggled nervously at the gesture. “So you’re new?” I inquired remembering my father’s pesterings on being more social. 

“Yeah uh well new to this class anyway not CalSci” Nadia replied. “Um hey don’t take this the wrong way but you look kinda young to be in college” 

“Well I'm only seventeen” I replied and wasn’t shocked to see Nadia’s surprised face. “Yeah I tested out of high school and got accepted here” 

“Cool. College is better than high school anyway” Nadia voiced and we both chuckled lightly. I felt my social anxiety ease as we continued to talk and work at the project. 

“Okay but seriously nothing is as fun as building something with your own hands” Nadia stated. 

“Maybe the end result but the process of building your own toaster seems far too arduous and pretty unnecessary” I replied as we headed out of class. 

“I’m not building a new toaster” Nadia corrected “I’m rebuilding the one my brother broke” 

“And I’m sure your parents are appreciative” I murmured and we shared a laugh as I turned about to enter my uncle’s office. 

“Oh is this your next class?” Nadia asked, pausing at the door. 

“What?” I asked confused for a moment then realized “oh no this is my uncle’s office.” 

“Your uncle’s a professor?” Nadia asked in surprise. 

“Yeah he’s the one who convinced me to come here actually.” I explained. “Well actually now that I think about it Amita and Larry probably had more to do with it” 

“Who?” Nadia gave me a confused look. 

“Amita is a friend of mine and another student here” I explained “while Larry is a professor and friend of my uncle’s” 

“That’s cool” Nadia smiled “you have a lot of connections” 

“Sorta” I shrugged, feeling a little awkward for some reason. 

Nadia smiled and checked her watch “I have to get to my class with Prof. Galuski but we can text about getting together to work on the project right?” 

“Totally. I’ll text you” I told her as she headed off waving goodbye. 

I smiled turning to head into my uncle’s office. I took a deep breath to cool my bubbling anxiety about the now past social situation. I grabbed the handle but froze with a small ringing in my ear. 

_“Come on stop looking so scared all the time. Live a little Abbs and lighten up”_

I whipped around half expecting to see a familiar red haired girl standing there hands on her hips and a smirk on her face. However the only thing I saw was the bulletin board on the other side of the hall. I took another deep breath steading the panic churning in my gut and the tightness in my chest. 

“Abby” I didn’t respond to my name at first fearing it might be another memory and started trying to dig my blinders out of my bag. “Hey Abby” I jumped slightly at the hand on my shoulder and turned to see the half concerned half apologetic face of my father as he retracted his hand “whoa you okay?” 

“Yeah fine” I mumbled “sorry I just uh..” I tried to think of words as my hand found my blinders. “I just spaced out for a moment” 

“Okay,” Don murmured giving me a skeptical look “is Charlie in?” he gestured to the door. 

“Uh I don’t know. Just got here” I explained. 

“Well alright” he gave me one last once over before opening the door to the office and heading inside. I got a glimpse of paper in the air over Don’s shoulder as the door opened. Then he crouched to pick something up off the floor opening the door the rest of the way with his other hand. 

“Is that a paper airplane?” I asked. 

“Yes” Charlie replied “uh.. Hey Don, Abby what’s going on?” 

“Just work guys,” Don muttered, examining the projectile in his hand. 

“I’m in between classes,” I replied, heading over to take a seat as Don came in more slowly. I slipped my blinders on and took a deep breath. It felt better having them on right now as I listened to the men. 

“Who made this?” Don inquired. 

“Me. Why?” Charlie explained. 

“Well, wings are a little thin here buddy” Don observed. 

“Hey, wait, wait. Let me see this” Larry spoke up and I heard his chair move as I imagine he stood up. 

“Forgive me if all my years of applied mathematics take issue with that assessment” Charlie grumbled. 

“Yeah, well, you’ll forgive me if all my years of high school detention say I’m right” DOn countered “you go ahead. You make those wings wider it’ll fly” 

I scoffed feeling stable enough to slide my binders to the top of my head letting the world back into my vision. “You got detention?” 

“Once upon a time” Don replied “don’t follow that example” 

“What’s going on?” Charlie interjected an amused look on his face now. 

Don took a deep breath glancing over his shoulder where Larry was leaving the office closing the door behind him then over at me hesitating “come on you know I’m just going to overhear it anyway” 

Don sighed in defeat and then pulled an evidence bag out of his pocket “some idiot tried to run over one of my agents this morning over what we thought were fake passports” he began handing Charlie the journal that had been in the evidence bag I craned my neck to see what it was while still seated “he left this. Just be careful.” 

“That looks crispy” I commented at the burned edges as Charlie examined it. 

“Yeah he tried to set it on fire in his escape” Don explained. 

“It’s a transposition cipher,” Charlie informed after a moment. 

“Can you break it?” Don inquired. 

“Yeah. I’ll need some time” Charlie murmured, seeming a little tense. 

“Well, how long? ‘Cause something’s not sitting right about it to me” Don cautioned. 

“Why?” I pressed “gut instinct or something?” 

“Yeah something like that” Don muttered. 

“Well, I can already tell you the basic context of this and it’s not about passports” Uncle C spoke up his voice still edged with a tone that made me nervous. 

“What’s it about?” Don asked, obviously sensing the same tension in the mathematician that I was. 

“There are letter groupings here that I’ve seen before when I consulted for the NSA” Charlie informed. 

“The NSA?” I voiced in shock. 

“What?” Don breathed out just as surprised. 

“Standard code references” Charlie continued “for a very specific type of operation” 

“What kind of operation?” Don asked bewildered. 

“Don, it’s a plan for an assassination” Charlie explained. 

“Holy shit” I muttered.  
___________________________  
I sat at the kitchen table doing my homework as Charlie worked on his case across from me. “Here you are” 

“Thank you grandpa,” I smiled as the man handed me a glass of water. 

“No trouble” Alan replied, going to sit down he glanced over at Charlie “So, uh, what’s this one about?” 

“It’s a possible assassination” Charlie explained. 

“Oh, assassination? Who was killed?” Gramps inquired. 

“No one, as far as we know. At least not yet.” Uncle C elaborated. 

“They’re trying to stop it,” I clarified. 

“You know when it’s done right you never do find out who did it” Alan offered “Kennedy, Dallas, ‘63. They’re still waiting for an answer on that one.” 

Charlie hummed and I let out a slight scoff taking a sip of my water before going back to my work. Then a thought came to mind. “Oh hey gramps can I have someone come over here tomorrow?” 

“A friend?” Alan guessed “sure” 

“No, no” I quickly objected “we’re not really friends we’re just working on a project together is all” 

“Oh well either way it’s a start” Gramps decided “of course the doors always open” 

“You know it’s technically my door” Charlie muttered. 

“You say that but I still am asking him” I declared “seniority and all”

“You know I’m going to take that as a compliment and not as you calling me old” Alan declared. 

“I really wasn't. I was saying you owned the house longer than him” I explained. Alan nodded and Charlie rolled his eyes. “Anyway thanks” 

Alan nodded again and there was a pause before he turned back to his son. “I suppose this case will take you the rest of the week, huh?” 

“Pretty much. Yeah. Why?” Charlie murmured. 

“Uh, it’s Aunt Irene’s 80th on the 27th” Alan informed. 

“Aunt Irene hates you,” Charlie murmured. 

I couldn’t hold back a small chuckle of surprise “wait what?” 

“No, she doesn’t hate me.” Alan objected Charlie made a very unconvinced face that made me chuckle a bit more “she was just a little disappointed at your mother’s choice of a spouse” 

“Gramps that sounds like a long way of saying she hated you” I inferred. 

“Ah, you don’t even know her” Alan waved me off then seemed to think “actually if you come this might be a good chance for you to meet more of the family it could be good” 

“Uh, um I- I don’t think that’s such a good idea” I objected. 

“Trust me you don’t want to go” Charlie advised me. 

“Come one she’s still your mother’s aunt Charlie” Alan defended. “Doesn’t change just because your mother’s not here” 

“Yeah well I went to her 75th she made me dance with her a very slow dance” Uncle C grumbled.

“I- I could really use a wingman or woman on this one” Alan practically begged. 

“I do have this project to get done” I tried to get myself out of this

“I’m sorry” Charlie apologized “even if I could make the time, I’m supposed to go to a concert on the 27th. Why don’t you ask Don?” 

“Ah, Don's too busy” Alan immediately objected. 

“I’m busy too” Charlie replied with an annoyed edge. 

“I know I didn’t mean it that way” Gramps assured. “Anyway, this is not about you. It’s about me.” 

“Yeah” Charlie murmured as Alan rose from the table. 

“You do realize who has to dance with her now.” the elderly man grumbled as he disappeared further into the house. 

Charlie let out a huff of a breath. “Relax Uncle C it’s not that big of a deal” I tried to offer. 

“Yeah says the girl who never had to deal with whacky aunts” Charlie muttered. 

“You’re right,” I mumbled, turning back to my paper. 

Charlie seemed to catch himself freezing and turning to look at me “I- I’m sorry, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to-” 

“It’s okay I know you didn’t” I replied to him “and growing up with it being just me and my mom kinda did have it’s advantages I guess but” I paused “having family hasn’t been that bad” 

Charlie nodded as we both returned to our work then he commented after a moment “does that mean you’ll go with him to the party?”

“Oh hell no” I quickly replied and we shared a laugh.  
___________________  
**3rd POV.**  
“Hey” Don greeted Megan as he walked into the observation room. She only spared a glance at him before turning back to the interrogation “how’s it going?” 

“Okay” she replied with a sigh. 

“So what’s all your behavioral science training tell you about a grown man who still lives with his mother?” Don inquired watching Colby wear down the man they’d arrested, Korfelt. 

“Probably about the same as two brothers still moochin’ meals at their dad’s house three nights a week” she replied, sending him a look. 

“Hey, technically, it’s my brother’s house and normally I’m just getting Abby” Don defended “but okay, Megan I see how it’s gonna be.” 

They shared a laugh “I just call ‘em like I see ‘em” she told him then paused “but a seventeen year old college student that still needs a babysitter I find a little questionable” 

“Yeah,” Don sighed “it’s not really that I just don’t think she likes being alone and I don’t like leaving her alone you know?” he explained. 

Megan nodded slightly “I get it. Just don’t be too overbearing of her yeah? Kids deserve to make their own choices every once and awhile” 

Don smiled slightly “yeah thanks” the man sighed glancing back at the glass “I’m going to get in there” he headed out of the room taking a deep breath to center himself before heading into the interrogation.  
_______________  
**Abby POV.**

I groaned, throwing my textbook down on the desk. “I sense a certain level of frustration” Larry voiced from over my shoulder. 

“Well deduced” I declared sinking deeper into my chair. “Is this that project you were talking about earlier?” Charlie inquired. 

“Mmhmm” I nodded “it’s just a pain in the ass” I voiced “I have to calculate all of this” I tossed the worksheet packet at my uncle. Who caught it haphazardly and shifted it back on the desk “then write out a literary explanation for what I did and present it to the whole class” 

“That doesn’t seem too bad” Charlie voiced. 

“Yes especially with your memory capabilities” Larry voiced “you won’t even have to review your notes” 

“True but it’s still a lot of grunt work” I pointed out. 

“Ah but life is full of grunt work as you put it I’m afraid menial tasks that while not enjoyable have to be done to achieve greater successes” Larry declared. 

“Jeez it sounds so poetic when you say it like that” I muttered sarcastically. 

Charlie scoffed “well aren’t you supposed to be working on it with that other girl?” 

“Yeah Nadia” I voiced shifting “we’re meeting up tomorrow to go over it” 

“Well then why don’t you just wait for her to work on it” Charlie explained “you don’t have to solve it all yourself” 

“Yeah” I muttered “I think i’d rather work on my own” 

“Why? Is this Nadia person a bad student?” Larry asked. 

“No she’s brilliant at least from what I’ve observed” I explained “it’s just me and people don’t exactly tend to mix very well” 

Charlie nodded in understanding “well I’m afraid young Enigma that while life is also filled with the menial it is also filled with people and neither are avoidable.” 

“So I’m screwed” I grumbled, sinking in the chair and kicking my feet up on Charlie’s desk. 

We were all quiet for a moment working or reading I closed my eyes and almost dozed off before Larry spoke again “how’d you come by all this hard data on assassination techniques?” I opened my eyes as Charlie began to reply to the physicists question. 

“I have a friend at the NSA who has a friend at the- at the CIA.” he explained vaguely. 

“Yeah, don’t even tell me.” Larry muttered coming over to lean on the back of my chair holding a book. “You know what’s interesting. When a death must look accidental, we automatically reject modern weapons in favor of methods that have been around for thousands of years.” 

Charlie nodded “Drowning. Smothering. Blow to the noggin.” Uncle C stated with a small gesture to go along with the last item. 

“I think we have to give value to defenestration,” Larry pointed out. 

“What’s- what’s defenestration?” Charlie asked. 

“Charles come on” Larry chuckled. “When I was an undergrad even math and science majors had to have english.” 

“I took english, Larry” Charlie defended “I didn’t memorize the dictionary” 

“Still suck at scrabble,” I pointed out with a smirk. 

“Says the girl who can look at a dictionary and memorize it” Charlie countered defensively. 

“Actually I only got through the A section of websters I didn’t have the attention span to go any further” I explained “but I do at least know what defenestration means” 

“Okay, well, the ideal of a the Renaissance Man it’s just still a goal with me” Larry explained. “Defenestration, is” he picked up a wade of paper and chucked it at the window “is the act of throwing something out the window” 

“Splat” I added getting up to meander around the office as Larry took my seat in the chair I scooped up a bouncy ball Charlie had laying around and started playing with it. 

“Oh, I’ve got that covered” Charlie informed “in fact, the most effective method of killing a man is to drop him onto a hard surface from a height of at least 75 feet. It works every time.” 

“Splat” I repeated bouncing the ball. 

“Yes, but does your subject often stand by high windows?” Larry pointed out. 

“I have no idea” Charlie answered as I began to pace around the office bouncing the ball. 

“And I see you have his schedule here. But do you know if he jaywalks in traffic? Attempts home repairs?” Larry continued. 

“Does it fit for me to say splat to that?” I inquired. 

“Probably but I’d ask you to withhold your morbid sense of humor for right now if you would” Larry replied I nodded and continued to bounce the bouncy ball. 

“I get it, I get it.” Charlie voiced to his mentor “I should be aware of all the opportunities that Gavriel Ruiz might present.” 

“Well, yeah, or you don’t have all the data.” the physicist finished. 

“I have to actually talk to him,” Charlie declared, taking the paper from Larry. 

“Yeah, it’s field work, it’s just field work” Larry mused. “There’s no substitute” 

“I’m sure Don’s going to love that” I muttered as my Uncle walked past me and he shot me a look.  
________________  
**3rd POV.**

“Look I’d feel more comfortable if someone else got Gabriel’s schedule. All right?” Don told Charlie as they walked outside. 

“Well, that’s not as effective” Charlie objected. “See, I need to work the data against the risk/success scenarios that I’ve established. So, I have very specific questions, Don. You know, besides with a secret assassination-”

“All right,” Don muttered, conceding. 

“the odds of an attack are less likely-” 

“Alright” 

“When the target is in the company of others” 

“Alright, alright I’ll set it up” Don declared cutting off his brother’s rambling. “But I’m gonna have an agent with you, okay? I mean, I gotta answer to Dad about this.” 

“Yeah, well” Charlie took a breath “you somehow you managed to escape an invite to Aunt Irene’s 80th birthday party. Luck you, huh?” 

“What?” Don questioned confused. 

“Yeah, Dad invited me.” Charlie explained “he didn’t even bother asking you because, well, because you’re working. He actually asked Abby” 

Don could hear the underlying annoyance in his brother’s voice. He wouldn't be a very good agent if he could detect that “Yeah, well I’m in the middle of a case” Don pointed out. His brain still snagged on the part where Alan had asked Abby. 

Abby meeting the rest of the family. Don felt a tightness in his chest when he thought about what they would all think of her. Not that she isn’t great but the fact of how she came to be. Of the choices Don made. He shoved the thoughts away and focused back in on his brother. 

“Yeah, you’re always in the middle of a case. So?” Charlie grumbled. 

“Hey, don’t Charlie, I’ve done my share.” Don argued. 

“Yeah, I live with him.” the younger brother countered. 

“Well, that’s your choice” Don pointed out “Plus I have Abby to worry about” 

“Exactly Dad said himself it would be a good opportunity for her to meet the family” Charlie explained. 

“Listen, even if I could go, Aunt Irene’s parties are awkward enough without me having to explain why I suddenly have a teenage daughter okay” Don shot back. 

Don, I can’t go.” Charlie declared “I have concert tickets for the night. It’s for me and Amita” 

“Charlie, well, I’ve got to find an assassin, okay?” the elder brother argued. “So assassin, concert. Concert, assassin. You tell me.” 

“I don’t know why everything always has to fall on my shoulders” Charlie voiced. 

“What are you even talking about?” Don muttered as Charlie continued. 

“Dad doesn’t want to go alone” Charlie finished going to leave “think about it.” 

Don shook his head in aggravation watching his brother walk off. He had no idea what he was talking about Don thought. Or maybe he did?  
___________  
**Abby POV.**

“No you have to- you have to do this” I corrected reaching over to mark on Nadia’s paper without thinking. 

“Hey I know how to divide” Nadia muttered pulling her paper away. “I wouldn’t be at Calsci if I couldn’t do simple division” 

“I know but you miswrote the eight as a six” I explained. 

“What?” she looked down at her paper then pulled over the reference book. “Damn it. Thanks” 

“You’re welcome,” I replied, continuing my work. 

Three more times of me correcting her paper and Nadia gave me a look “knock it off if you wanted to just do this on your own you should have said something” 

“Sorry” I murmured, pulling back a bit “I just want to get the right answer you know? I didn’t mean-” 

“Yeah, yeah I know just let me work alright?” she told me. 

“Alright” I agreed and turned back to where I was writing out our work in work form. 

“I don’t know how you do that?” Nadia voiced after a second. 

“Do what?” I asked not looking up from my page. 

“You haven’t even glanced at the reference books this entire time” she pointed out. 

“I don’t need to,” I replied. 

“Everyone needs to look at reference books” She objected. 

“I’m not everyone” I replied aiming for a joke but the annoyed scoff that left Nadia’s lips told me I missed the mark. 

“Well aren’t you full of yourself” she sighed closing her book and getting to her feet. “Why don’t you just send me your half when you’re done I’ll handle the presentation bit.” she turned to leave. 

“Wait, Nadia, wait” I tried to object getting to my feet and following her to the front door. “I was only trying to make a joke, I didn’t mean to be rude.” 

“It’s whatever” Nadia grumbled, opening the door I followed her outside. 

“If you’d just slow down and let me explain” I tried. 

She finally huffed to a stop. “I get it you’re a kid genius not looking to make friends” Nadia declared, turning to me with a more tired then angry expression. “Next time I won’t get my hopes up about making a new friend after one toaster joke” 

I looked to my feet knowing she wasn’t wrong as she got in her car. I turned back to the house and saw Gramps waiting there. “You alright? I heard the tail end of that” 

“I’m fine I mean it’s not like she was wrong” I sighed “friends never really work out for me” glimpses of a red haired girl passed through my memory. 

“Well if you ask me you should judge new friends off past experiences” Gramps told me.

I looked up at him. “What do you mean?” 

“Abby you’ve been alone your whole life” he declared “I’d be surprised and maybe even a little concerned if you didn’t have at least some trouble making friends but you can’t just block yourself off to the whole world after a little resistance” he advised “relationships are a hard won thing and they take work.” he placed a hand on my shoulder “try talking to Nadia it might help more than you think” 

“You think so?” I asked hesitantly. 

“I know so” He reassured me “now come on” he guided me back inside.  
________________  
“Why is it that you seem to spend more time in my office than I do these days?” Uncle Charlie voiced coming in. 

I looked up from where I was sitting at his desk. “Sorry I just was finishing this” I held up what was left of my project. 

“Really I thought you said you and Nadia were going to finish it the other night at the house?” he voiced. 

“We were but- uh it didn’t work out” I explained pausing in thought “hey Uncle Charlie when you were in college did you find it hard to make friends?” 

“Well considering my best friend is someone who was once my professor shoulds answer that but uh- yeah I did” He told me “I mean granted I was thirteen at the time and you’re seventeen not that it gets any easier really” 

“Well how did you make friends?” I asked. 

“Well” Charlie chuckled lightly “thinking back I think most of my really friends found me they reached out and all I had to do was get the courage to reach back”

I nodded thinking for a minute “I was kinda rude to Nadia” I explained “I think I made her mad at me on purpose because I knew she wanted to be friends. It freaked me out a bit” 

Charlie nodded listening “well, then I think you need to apologize” he paused reaching for something on his desk “here give these to her. Call it a peace offering” 

I took what he had extended and looked at them “concert tickets weren’t you giving these to Amita?” 

Charlie sighed “yeah but you know she made other plans and anyway you seem to need them more” 

I smiled lightly “thanks Uncle C and I’m sorry about Amita” 

“Yeah” he took a deep breath “just don’t tell Don I gave those to you. He’s a bad enough helicopter parent already” We shared a laugh at that as I looked over the tickets.  
_______________  
I weaved through the engineering departments shop class heading for the corner Galuski had pointed me towards. Nadia was there tinkering with what looked to be the skeleton of a toaster at her desk. 

“Hey” I spoke up shifting on my feet. 

She glanced up but turned back to her toaster “is this about the project? I’m done with my half” 

“So am I” I replied, “but it’s not about that,” I explained. 

She glanced up again “okay” 

“I want to apologize for being rude before. I kinda have a bad habit of cutting people off before they can get a chance to know me and I was mean. I’m sorry”

Nadia sighed and stood up “I handled it poorly too. It’s okay. I’m not the best listener you tried to explain before and I didn’t hear you out. I’m sorry to” 

“Truce” I smiled extending a hand. 

“Truce” she agreed and we shook hands. 

“Good because I was hoping to invite you to this concert,” I told her, digging the tickets from my pocket and handing them over. “My Uncle bought them but can’t go so he gave them to me.” 

She smiled brightly “the white stripes? Seriously? That’s major” 

“I know” I smiled. 

“Count me in” she agreed. 

I glanced down at the table “what happened to only fixing the toaster?” 

“Well you brought it up and I got inspired” she shrugged. 

“I can see that” I chuckled as she explained to me how she was going about building her own toaster.  
_______________  
I headed downstairs at the house pausing when the door opened and my father walked in. “hey kid what’s up?” 

I smiled “not much” 

“You're a little too excited for not much,” He objected. 

“I got concert tickets, me and Nadia are going to see the White Stripes” I explained. 

“Really? You do realize you’re a minor and still have to tell me where you’re going right?” He pointed out. 

“Dad seriously?” I gave him a look “I can take care of myself”

Don sighed “yeah I know I just” 

“Want to be a helicopter parent” I muttered. 

Don scoffed “hey you’re not an adult yet remember that” 

“How can I forget when you remind me everyday” I muttered. 

“Well tonight I’m reminding you to go be one alright? Have fun with your friend. Just don’t do anything stupid for my sake?” He told me. 

“Yes sir” I agreed then my phone buzzed. “Got to go Nadia’s here” 

“Alright bye” he called as I hurried out the door.  
____________  
**3rd POV.**

Don smiled after Abby as she hurried out the door. He meandered over to a chair and shed his coat. He remembered what Megan said about lightening up. Still part of him wanted updates about her whereabouts every five minutes. 

He took a deep breath considering the party he’d signed on for tonight. It would definitely be less fun than a concert. Though he knew Abby would have been uneasy the entire time being grilled by relatives she never knew existed. So Don would go and he’d tell them about Abby and he’d brag about his genius daughter and take the scrutiny of having an illegitimate child. While his daughter had fun and made friends and was a normal college student for once. Because what’s a father for.


	19. Player

“Just Calibrate the coil to-” 

“Yes, yes, yes Charles I know, observe” 

“Okay, okay and the- the power-” 

“Uncle C you bring a new meaning to micromanagement” I muttered as I walked past Larry’s car with the nerd pair. 

Larry stifled a chuckle as my uncle shot me a look “you know I’m here to help” Charlie defended. “The math department has no true stake in this” 

“Only because you got decimated so much each year you finally gave up” I muttered as Larry bent with measuring tape and chalk to mark the driveway ahead of his car. The little robot still held delicately in Charlie’s hands. 

“How would you know this is your first year?” the mathematician exclaimed. 

“Galuski was bragging about it,” I explained. 

“Galuski? Professor Galuski I didn’t realize you were taking any Engineering classes” Larry voiced. 

“I’m not my friend Nadia is though. Part of her dual major” I explained. Charlie hummed and began looking over the robot again. I glanced over to the road and saw a familiar black SUV pulled up on the side of the road. A slight smile came to my face. “I’ll be right back” both men hummed in acknowledgement as I turned and headed to the front door. 

Heading inside I could hear the voices in the house “she’s a doctor” my grandfather was saying. I paused when I opened the door fully though and found not only my father and grandfather standing there but also a woman. 

“Oh Abby, I didn’t realize you were over” Gramps greeted. 

“Uh, yeah I was hanging outside with Larry and Uncle C” I explained closing the door behind me. “Hi” I murmured awkwardly. 

“Oh uh, Val this is uh this my daughter Abby” Don introduced, reaching out to me and I drifted closer to his side where he put a hand on my shoulder. “Abby this is Val we went to highschool together” 

“Oh you’re the Val Charlie was talking about” I deduced remembering my Uncle vaguely mentioning a wedding. 

“It’s nice to meet you Abby” Val smiled at me. 

“Likewise” I nodded. 

Val’s eyes drifted back to my father “FBI agent and a family man. Your wife around?” 

Gramps ducked his head a bit shuffling over to the foyer table as my father shifted. “Not quite” he murmured “it’s uh it’s just the two of us” he pulled me in a bit closer. 

Val’s expression shifted to one of apology “oh I’m sorry I shouldn’t have assumed-” 

“It’s alright,” Don assured her quickly, his gaze flickering to me “we’re a little unconventional but we make it work. This ones actually in college” 

“College?” Val inquired in surprise “really? How old are you?” 

“Seventeen” I replied a bit bashfully “I’m a freshman at Calsci where Charlie teaches” 

“Yeah, Alan was just telling me about Charlie the math rockstar” Val explained leaning against the wall. Don shifted away from me to sit on the arm of a nearby chair. I still hovered close to his side. 

“No surprise there, right?” Don scoffed. 

“We always figured he’d do something special” Val agreed. 

“You forgot that big fight you had with your brother” Alan spoke up “when you invited Val to the prom” 

“Come one dad, what are you talking about a fight?” Don objected quickly as I looked at him in amused surprise. “He was thirteen. He was going to go out with her?” he gestured toward Val who was looking both intrigued and awkward. 

“Well, you’ll forgive me if my recollection is different from yours.” Gramps muttered and the men exchanged a look. 

“Oh I’m definitely asking for the full story to this” I told my father. 

“Yeah? Why am I not surprised” he murmured back. 

“So, anyway,” Val regained our attention, “I hear you and him are working together now.” 

“Yeah when can I find him” Don stated as he got back to his feet “not that I don’t want to reminisce, but is why I’m here” 

“We were just working in the driveway,” I explained. 

“All right” Don nodded and then turned to his old friend “great seeing you Val” 

“You, too” she agreed and they kissed each other on the cheek “you’re going to come right, both of you?” she asked, looking at me as well. I looked to my father. 

“Ummm” he thought, glancing at me “yeah sure” he agreed. “I- yeah wouldn’t miss it. Absolutely. Congratulations” 

“Great thank you” she replied with a smile and he complimented her once more before ushering me out the door. 

“I’m starting to realize something” I voiced when we reached the front porch. 

“Yeah? What’s that?” he asked, going to walk toward the drive. 

“You’re a player” I declared and he stopped turning to look at my smirking face. “My unplanned existence makes more sense now” 

“I’m not a- I just- that’s not-” I gave him a look “shut up I can still ground you ya know” he muttered turning back again to continue to the driveway as I sniggered behind him. 

“So this is where all those university research dollars go. Huh?” Don muttered as he approached the drive I followed right behind him. 

“Ah, everything you see here came out of our own pockets” Charlie objected. “CalSci’s Minibot Chain Yank and Crank is next Friday” Don crouched to look at the little robot Larry has just finished connecting to his car. 

“After five years of ignominy, the physics department has ascended to the finals against engineering” Larry explained “thanks to Professor Charles Edward Eppes” straightening Don gave them both very uninterested looks as I stood back and just watched. 

“I just free-styled Faraday’s Law of Induction” Charlie elaborated “to triple amp the armature coil and maximize horsepower” 

“This thing’s actually going to pull the car?” Don asked skeptically. 

“That’s kinda the point dad” I scoffed and he shot me a look still annoyed already from my previous comment. 

“Six feet to glory” Larry declared as Charlie got to his feet with the remote. 

“Let’s do it!” the mathematician exclaimed giving Larry a high-five as he got up as well and we all shuffled further down the drive to watch. 

“You guys are something else” Don muttered as the professors exchanged excited exclamations. 

Charlie turned on the robot and it wired to life beginning to pull the car forward. “Yes! There it is! You see that?” Charlie exclaimed excitedly looking to his brother. “It’s moving the car” 

Larry was also overcome with joy as Don just nodded and shot me a dubious look. The robot passed two feet and Larry laughed with glee bouncing up and down. 

“Halfway” I murmured as it got to three feet and my Uncle echoed my statement with far more joy. Then just shy of four feet the robot fizzled and the motor stopped. Charlie hurriedly toggled the switch in frustration. “Don’t break the controller” I chidded at his harsh movement “that’ll just make it worse.” 

“Sorry guys,” Don muttered, scratching the back of his neck. 

“What? This is like 1998 all over again” Larry whined kneeling before the little robot. 

“Hey, did you see Val?” Don inquired of his brother who was now fiddling with the remote far more carefully as I came over to look over his shoulder at it.

“Yeah, yeah” Uncle C said smiling brightly. 

“A doctor” my father voiced. 

“Well, her talents always were in biology” Charlie reminded, allowing me to slip the remote from his hands and look it over. 

“I take it you both knew this woman?” Larry voiced still crouched over the robot. 

“Yeah, we were all in the same class in high school” Charlie explained. 

“Oh yeah, I keep forgetting you graduated the same year.” Larry muttered, placing a hand to his forehead. 

“I wish I could have graduated at thirteen” I murmured. 

“Yeah, with your school record be glad we got you out early at all” Don replied. 

I gave him a look as Charlie cleared his throat “So you’re not here to talk about Val” he deduced. 

“Yeah right. You know anything about phosgene gas?” Don asked. “A diluted form of it was released on the subway this morning” 

I paused in my tinkering with the remote to look at my father in surprise. “Oh my God” Larry exclaimed. 

“Yeah, we’re trying to figure out if it was an accident” Don explained “like, maybe a maintenance worker mixing bottles together.” 

“Phosgene is used in dyes, pesticides, plastics, even the foam used in seat cushions” I explained earning me a look from my father “it’s called chemistry class relax” I muttered. 

“It’s also in the chlorine family and it is highly toxic” Larry added “you know, theoretically it could be accidentally produced by combining certain cleaning agents but that’s, uh, that’s very unlikely”

“I’d say that’s an understatement” I told the physics professor and he nodded. 

“So, it probably wasn’t an accident” Don inferred. 

“What was the delivery mechanism? Do you know if it was an air duct or a canister?” Charlie asked. 

Don shook his head “no, we don’t know yet. Why?” 

“Because when gas dissipates, it leaves a trail behind” Charlie explained “you may be able to determine the original release point.” 

“And if we find that out..” Don prompted. 

“You may find who released it” Charlie finished.  
____________________  
“Hey did you get that essay done for Lisben?” I turned in the hall as Nadia jogged up next to me typing on her phone. 

I sighed “not yet. You?”

“I haven’t even started” Nadia confessed with a wince pocketting her cellular device as we meandered down the hallway of CalSci. 

“You do realize it’s due next week?” I reminded her. 

“I know I know” she huffed “I just suck at all this textbook crap I mean at least in Galuski’s I can get my hands on some actual machinery” 

I scoffed “you helping with the minibot?” 

“No” Nadia whined “only the older students get to. I’m still a freshman” 

I chuckled “relax soon we won’t be freshman anymore then we’ll be the ones gloating.” 

“True” Nadia smiled “so do you want to get together this week and work on the essay?” 

“Sure” I agreed. 

“Cool, you at your Uncle’s again?”

“Uh” I thought about it “actually I’m trying to avoid my Uncle and Grandfather’s house” 

“Why?” Nadia gave me a confused look as we headed out into the courtyard. 

“Get this, my grandfather agreed to host the wedding of an old high school friend of my dad and his brother,” I explained. 

“Really?” Nadia nodded, as we sat on a bench outside. 

“Yeah and get this apparently she’d been my dad’s prom date.” I explained “he and Uncle C literally fought over this girl” 

“Oh my goodness and now her wedding is at your Uncle’s house.” Nadia gaped “that’s a little weird” 

“You’re telling me” I muttered. “But anyway point is Gramps is trying to clean up the place and I’m avoiding being drafted into helping” 

“Ah” Nadia nodded “we could study at my place” she suggested. “I’m sure my parents wouldn’t mind” 

“Alright” I agreed.  
_______________  
“I can talk to Homeland Security, sure” I heard my father’s voice as I entered Uncle C’s office. 

“You guys still working the terrorist thing?” I asked drawing the men’s attention as I sat my backpack on my Uncle’s desk. 

“Uh, yeah” Don murmured vaguely. “Aren’t you supposed to be at the house?” 

“Oh I’m avoiding that place like the plague” I replied. 

“He try to enlist you in his lawn maintenance too?” Charlie asked. 

“Yup and unlike you I don’t have the I own the house excuse to fall back on” I muttered. 

Don chuckled lightly as Charlie sighed “oh, my… he’s too obsessed with this wedding.” the mathematician declared “Honestly, seriously, he went out and bought himself a copy of Brides magazine” 

Don scoffed “our little wedding planner” 

“Uncle C I’m getting a yellow gumball” I called plucking the piece from the bowl. 

Charlie nodded and dug out the paper with the gumball tracking data on it “he says because he has two sons this may be the only chance he’ll have to get to throw a wedding” Charlie explained. 

“Well, hey he’s got me now” I expressed. 

Don looked over his shoulder at me “you’re not getting married for at least another two decades” 

“Oh really? At least I have the chance of getting married” I replied. “Mr. player” 

Charlie snorted a laugh that earned him a playful glare from his older brother “keep it up kid and I’ll turn you over to the old man to help clean the house” he threatened. 

“I surrender, I surrender” I conceded with a giggle raising my hands before popping the gumball in my mouth. 

“It’s kind of weird Val getting married at our house, though, don’t you think?” Don asked his brother as I pulled my feet up to sit cross legged on Charlie’s desk fishing my laptop from my bag. 

“Uh-huh. Even weirder, because I liked her and, you know, you took her to the prom” Charlie said. I looked at the pair from over the top of my laptop screen as the atmosphere of the room shifted slightly. 

“Come on, you’re still upset about that?” Don asked with an edge of annoyance in his voice. 

“No, I…” Uncle C paused to collect his words “remembering that brings back other stuff” my uncle’s eyes flickered toward me and I ducked my head trying not to be an obvious eavesdropper. 

“Like what?” Don pressed further seeming unbothered by my presence in the room of conversation. 

Charlie sighed sinking into a chair “Like what it was like to be Don Eppes’s thirteen year old brainiac brother.” 

“Come on, Charlie, don’t start. I mean, it wasn’t that big a deal” Don objected. 

“Not for you, but high school sucked for me, Don.” Charlie murmured. “Man, I was a little kid. Everyone was years older than me. And yeah, there was this one girl who didn’t treat me like I was different. She was nice to me”  
“Well, it was no easy trick being your brother, either, you know.” Don argued “I mean you’re five years younger than me we’re in the same grade. I’m like an idiot next to you. So, I’m sorry if I was better than you at something.” 

“Whatever, man. You’re the one that asked” Charlie dismissed standing back up and heading over to his bookshelf. Don glanced back at me and seemed to do a double take remembering I was here. I diverted my wandering eyes back to my laptop screen again. “So, predicting how Nash will strike is only half the battle. It’s not going to tell you where” Charlie turned the conversation back to the case. 

Don let off a breath after a minute and went with the conversation change “well, can you tell us that?” 

“No, but Nash will.” Charlie explained “I’ll tell you what. Let me start by looking at his military operations. Then I think I’ll be able to tell you more” 

“Okay,” Don nodded, getting up. 

“Okay” Charlie replied. 

Don left the office and Charlie let out a breath. “You can’t expect him to understand something fully he hasn’t experienced” I pointed out lightly slowing closing my computer. 

Charlie huffed a breath “but he doesn’t even try to he just assumes that things must have been great for me because I- I was smart” 

“And you assume things were great for him because he was popular?” I asked. Charlie paused, opening and closing his mouth as he thought. “Listen I had no friends and everybody thought I was an idiot because I skipped class. Neither was particularly fun; they were just crappy in different ways.” 

“One’s not worse than the other because they’re different struggles all together” Charlie sighed. 

I nodded “and like a wise man once told me High School sucks for just about everyone” Charlie scoffed slightly nodding at my statement.  
___________________________  
**3rd POV.**

Don sighed as he waited in his car. It was only a second before Abby appeared from her friend Nadia’s house. She headed over and hopped in the car. “Thanks for picking me up” she told him. 

“Yeah sure” he nodded as she fastened her seatbelt. “You two get your project done?” 

“It was an essay this time and I did but Nadia still has to write one more paragraph” Abby explained. 

“Ah” Don nodded “I always hated essays in school” 

Abby hummed “we heading back to the apartment?” 

“Nah your grandfather's” Don replied “with this terrorism case I feel better having you there where someone can get to you.” 

“Dad” Abby groaned. 

“Hey, I’m your father I have the right to be concerned.” he quickly cut off her protest. 

“It’s not that you know Gramps is going to draft me into the whole wedding planning thing” the teenager gestured wildly and Don scoffed. 

“Relax just say you have homework that’ll get you out of it” the man suggested. 

“I hate homework,” Abby huffed. There was a pause “did you really like that girl or just want to ask her out because Charlie liked her?” 

Don was caught off guard by the question and honestly glad he was at a stop sign when she asked. “What?” 

“That lady, Val, who you asked to prom did you really like her or did you just ask her out because Charlie liked her?” Abby repeated. Don glanced over at her she wasn’t looking at him but at her hands. 

Don thought about the question, thought about the answer he wanted to give and the emotions he’d felt as a teenager himself. “I don’t know” he admitted “I mean, I was your age. Me and your uncle we weren’t all that close back then and- and it wasn’t a real easy time for me anyhow” 

“What do you mean?” Abby pressed. 

This time Don didn’t need to glance over to tell her eyes were on him. Don let out a breath “growing up with Charlie. Being the same grad as him when I was older it wasn’t a great time. Kids can be mean” 

“Definitely” Abby agreed. “You know I hated highschool” she voiced “even before I came to stay with you. I mean I was teased for looking like a boy, for not trying, for whatever.” she paused and Don glanced over to see her looking out the window. “When you’re a genius in a school where you know you’re smarter than everyone which is like the only thing you have going for you but you know every single one of your classmates hates you for it. It really makes life suck” 

Don was silent processing the information. He’d never thought of it like that. With Abby it seemed so obvious she struggled to make friends because she thought on a different level than her peers and even in college it was hard because of the age gap. He’d been worried about her for it until Nadia came around and Abby started going over to work on homework or grab lunch with her between classes. It never occurred to Don that Charlie had the same problem. 

“Oh by the way Nadia wants to take me dress shopping for the wedding” Abby explained “since I got invited and I don’t own one” 

“Oh yeah” Don tuned back in at the change of conversation pulling up outside the house. “I’ll give you some money later okay once I get some cash on me?” 

“Thanks,” Abby smiled, hopping out of the car. Don stayed where he was for a moment watching her. Sometimes it was a little alarming how wise she seemed. 

When Don got out of the car and entered the house Abby was exchanging small talk with Charlie before she vanished into the kitchen. Charlie looked over his shoulder “Hey, brother” he greeted “Dad’s lasagna. It’s actually worth digesting” he exclaimed gesturing to the dish on the table. “You should try some Abby went to get plates” 

Don scoffed as he ditched his keys on the foyer table and pulled off his jacket. “No, I’m good thanks” 

“Are you sure?” Charlie pressed. 

“Yeah” Don nodded heading over. He spotted a book out on the table “what you got there? What is it, high school yearbook? No way.” 

“Yeah” Charlie murmured. 

“Jeez you didn’t let Abby get a look at this did you?” Don questioned fearing what his teenage genius of a daughter would find to tease him about.

Charlie chuckled “she glanced at it and vowed to come back and read your page” 

“Oh man” Don sighed looking at the page Charlie had the book open to “Wait, I don’t remember you being next to Val” Don commented looking at the page next to Charlie’s picture, which held a smiling pretty girl. 

“Well yeah, Val Eng, Charlie Eppe.” The younger brother pointed out “I thought it was part of a greater plan” 

“What? I ruined that?” Don asked jokingly “what’s your quote here?” Don looked closer at the book as he sat down. 

“Eternal nothingness is okay if you dress for it” Charlie voiced. 

“Oh, yeah, Woody Allen. That’s good” Don muttered “I don’t remember you being all that funny.” 

“Oh, and yeah, you were hilarious right?” Charlie scoffed there was a pause as the younger man collected his thoughts “Man, I totally didn’t get you. We totally didn’t get each other, did we?” 

“No, negative” Don murmured and what Abby had said in the car rattled in his brain making his eyes divert back to the page where he could read what thirteen year old Charlie’s favorite vegetable and color was. 

“We could have never done this work together as kids” Charlie continued. 

“No way,” Don agreed. 

“Can you imagine that?” they both asked in unison causing them to chuckle at themselves. 

“But I mean, we’re doing all right now, right?” Don asked scanning his brother’s face for some reassurance. Don wasn’t sure why he felt he needed that.

It was a moment before Charlie nodded and turned back to Don with a smile “Somehow, yeah. We’re doing all right.” 

Don felt something nag at him so he swallowed the small part of his pride that was reserved only to be annoyed or frustrated with his little brother “Charlie, look, you know, I mean if I did stuff that hurt you when we were kids,” he paused “I’m sorry” 

“Thank you” Charlie replied and Don could tell there was a far lighter sound to his words and far more genuine smile on his face “you don’t have to- I was thirteen”

“Yeah, exactly. You were thirteen” Don parroted feeling far better than he thought he would after the apology. 

Charlie sighed and looked back at the book “she was, she was so hot” he voiced. 

“She’s still hot, man” Don pointed out fishing himself some of the lasagna. 

“And think how happy dad would be if one of us married a doctor” Charlie mused. 

“I think he’d be happy if I married someone with a pulse,” Don joked. 

“At this point..” Charlie chuckled. 

“I did get him the first grandkid though” Don said “however, odd that situation might have been” 

“Hey, I thought I didn’t count because I’m quote unquote an angsty teenager” Abby exclaimed coming out of the kitchen with a glass of water and plate for her lasagna. 

“Well you are a moody teenager that’s for sure” Don stated. She shot him a look setting down her dishes then reaching for the yearbook that Don quickly swiped. “Uh uh no you don’t” he teased. 

“What? I want to see what my father was like at my age. Is that such a bad thing?” Abby tried with her best voice of mock innocence.

“With you it’s a dangerous thing,” Don replied, closing the book and setting it to the side well out of his daughter's reach as she settled in his chair. 

“Fine, but mark my words I will see that book eventually” Abby vowed. 

“Over my dead body,” Don replied and the group shared a laugh. 

“Hey, listen, so something Larry said got me thinking about the targets.” Charlie switched the topic once the laughter had settled. 

“Yeah, it doesn;t matter cause they canceled the exercises” Don informed keep an eye on his daughter with his peripheral vision as she dished herself some supper. “We’re going to have to catch Nash the hard way” 

“Well, that’s just it” Charlie voiced “I’m not so sure the exercises were the target” 

“What do you mean?” Don asked, feeling a small sense of dread kick in. 

“Come on, bro, I’ll show you” Charlie offered, rising from his seat. 

Don followed snatching the yearbook from the table before his daughter who was only a centimeter away could. Abby let out a huff and what Don was pretty sure was a mumble cuss word. He flashed her one of his smirks as he followed his brother through the kitchen and was only mildly surprised when Abby followed them holding her plate and fork still eating her lasagna as she walked. 

“So I based my Linear Discriminant analysis on Nash’s past operations” Charlie explained as they entered the garage and he gestured toward a chalkboard with gibberish on it. “Which yielded a preference for hard targets: missile silos and battle command labs.” 

“Right.” Don nodded sitting on the table holding the yearbook as his daughter stalked behind him still eating “which is why you thought he’d strike City Hall” 

“But in focusing on Nash’s patterns of behavior, I overlooked something” Charlie informed “the subway, the office of Homeland Security, those are soft targets.” 

“Which don’t fit his MO.” Don inferred thinking over the information. 

“So we’ve either been looking at the wrong guy,” Charlie prompted. 

“Or the wrong targets” Don finished the thought looking at the board which had slowly started making more sense to him. 

“Or both” Abby voiced from right next to Don which made him look just as the yearbook slid from his distracted grasp. 

“Hey!” he exclaimed, reaching for the book but Abby scooted out of his reach and bolted for the door with maniacal laughter. 

Charlie stifled a laugh poorly and Don shot him a glare failing to keep his own smile off his face. “You know she is a quite talented pickpocket” Charlie voiced. 

“Yeah I noticed” Don sighed shaking his head and getting up to follow his daughter “hey you forgot your dishes yeah little thief” Don called teasingly after her more laughter was his only response.  
______________________  
**Abby POV.**

“I feel like some kind of barbie doll” I grumbled shifting my feet in the uncomfortable heels Nadia had lent me. 

“Come on, you look fine” Don objected, eyes scanning the crowd of the wedding. 

I shot him an annoyed look “I’d feel better in my converse” 

“You mean the ones held together by duct tape?” the man pointed out and I shrugged looking down at the baby blue and white flower dress I was in. Nadia had picked it out after I had said no to just about everything in the dress section. She said it was at least a little more on the casual side. 

“Hey,” Uncle Charlie greeted coming over adjusting his collar. “You look great Abby” he smiled.

“Thanks Uncle C” I gave a forced smile as my father gave me a smug look out of the corner of his eyes. 

“Don you know your tie’s crooked right?” Charlie asked, reaching toward his brother. 

“Hey back off” Don chuckled, flailing his arms in defense of the mathematician's invasion. 

“Come on, would you just let me fix your tie?” Charlie complained. 

“You’re acting like I’m getting married,” Don accused as Alan approached our little huddle. 

“Boys, boys” the elder man spoke in a scolding tone and the pair separated. “How do you like the flower hmm?” he inquired. The three of us murmured our compliments toward them as Alan continued “I was thinking of getting potted kumquats, but, uh..” 

“Dad,” Charlie cut Alan off “whatever you did, the place looks beautiful” 

“Absolutely good job” Don agreed. 

“Seriously looks fantastic” I piled on. 

“You throw a great wedding,” Charlie finished. 

“Remember that, both of you” Alan muttered. “And in a decade or so you to” he added to me. 

“Oh here we go” Don muttered. 

“I’m too young for this,” I grumbled, exchanging a look with my uncle. 

“Mr. Eppes” we all turned as Val peaked her head out of the house. “I just wanted to thank you” she told Gramps as she stepped out a bit more in her wedding dress and we shuffled over to meet her. 

“No, it’s Alan, and you look absolutely lovely” Gramps complimented. 

“Thank you” Val’s smile grew as Don and Charlie agreed and she did a little turn in her dress. 

“That’s a beautiful bride,” Don told her. 

She smiled again and her eyes shifted to me “you look pretty too” she told me and I blinked at her glancing down at myself. 

“Uh thanks” I smiled. 

“You sure are a lucky girl, Abby. When it’s your turn in a couple years you’ll have your grandfather to plan such a lovely service” she told me. 

“Uh..” I looked up at her not quite sure how to respond to that statement. 

However, Don had it covered wrapping an arm around my shoulder “ah she’s a long ways off from there.” 

Val chuckled “right” I looked to my father gratefully as he smiled. 

“So where’s the groom?” Charlie inquired, shifting the conversation. 

“Uh…” Val looked around the yard “oh, Ben’s over there” she pointed toward a man standing next to the priest who was adjusting his suit. “I better get back inside before he sees me. Catch up with you after?” 

“Yeah, hey and congratulations” Don offered her. 

“Thank you” Val called whisking back into the house with her bridesmaids. 

“He’s a doctor, too,” Gramps informed as we walked further into the yard. 

“So am I, Dad” Uncle C pointed out. 

“A PhD is different from an MD Uncle C” I objected. 

“Still counts though” Charlie insisted. 

“Are you Charlie Eppes?” a woman suddenly asked as she approached. 

“Sure, why not?” Uncle C replied. 

“I’m Bree,” the woman informed and my uncle looked back at her in confusion. “Bree Eng” she clarified. 

“Bree Eng” Charlie repeated in realization “you’re Val’s cousin.” 

“Right” 

“Wow, you were so- so little” Charlie chuckled. 

“I’m not so little anymore” Bree pointed out with a smile. I exchanged a look with my father. “I was looking for an escort.” she looked between the brothers. 

“Uh.. sorry. Groom side” my father objected. 

“Lead on” Charlie offered her his arm. 

“Okay” she agreed with a smile taking it. He walked her to his seat. 

We watched Charlie lead her away. “He’s oblivious isn’t he?” I whispered. 

“Pretty much” Don muttered. 

“No, not entirely” Alan gave his youngest the benefit of the doubt. 

“He’s got to close though” Don sighed as Charlie shook the woman’s hand and walked away awkwardly “that kid’s gotta lean how to close” 

“Yeah, that’s what he needs, a seminar from the dateless wonder” Alan muttered and I stifled a laugh as we walked through the yard. 

“I don’t see you with a date pal,” Don countered. 

“Who says I don’t have a date?” Alan said, exchanging a smile and wave with a woman coming out of the house with a tray of food. 

“The caterer?” Don scoffed. 

“Yes, the caterer” Alan smiled. 

“Nice” my father encouraged and I rolled my eyes. 

“She has a daughter too.” Gramps informed and my father sighed with annoyance “she’s very cute” 

“I can take care of myself thanks,” Don muttered. 

“Take a look. There she is” Alan voiced and my father turned back as a young woman with long black hair stood next to the caterer setting down a tray of glasses. 

“Oh, that’s her daughter?” Don asked. 

“Yes” Alan whispered. 

“Oh..” Don smirked “see, that’s food for thought” 

“Such a player” I sighed with a small smile and Don gave me a look “what was that highschool quote of yours again?” 

“Alright, alright, alright” Don spoke up quickly as I laughed and pulled me into his side. Alan shared our laughter.


	20. Difference

“What do you say Larry? The eagle, the shark?” Uncle Charlie asked, staring down his target. 

“Shark” I suggested. 

“No, I think the Eagle” Larry objected holding a bright orange frisbee to his chin “more stability” 

“Let’s go, bro. Show us how it’s done” Don encouraged as I shrugged at Larry’s suggestion.

Charlie launched the frisbee and we watched it dart through the air before curving into the ground. The brothers exclaimed in aggravation. “Ah that close” the mathematician gestured with his fingers. 

“Should have gone with the shark” I murmured. 

“Yeah yeah nice try brother” Don waved me off giving Charlie a sympathetic fist bump before stepping up for his turn “yeah, all right. Watch this” He launched the yellow disc and we watched it curve through the air “oh yeah” he said positively before it started to veer. I cocked my head to watch it’s flight as my father bent himself near in half. “Oh” Don groaned before it slammed in the chains of the goal “yeah!” 

“Oh nice throw brother” Charlie cheered and the brothers exchanged a high five. 

“Nice one dad” I smiled and he reached a hand up to ruffle my hair. I turned away with a smile to grab my backpack as Uncle C grabbed his own Larry and Don already walking on. ‘

“You know, Don you and I are very alike.” Larry declared and I scoffed exchanging a look with my uncle as we caught up to the pair “we’re both focused on large, possibly unattainable goals. Me trying to explain all the workings of the universe” 

“Yeah. what am I doing?” Don sighed “trying to take all the unworkable workings and put ‘em in jail” 

I snorted “that’s one way to look at your job” 

Don scoffed “good luck to both of us” just then his phone rang and the smile on my face faltered slightly. “Eppes… yeah. All right. Okay I’m on my way.” the smile had completely sanken from my face as Don put up his phone “sorry, guys, got to go. You know, work, I’ll see you all right?” he gave Larry a pat on the shoulder and then reached over to ruffle my hair again. “See you kid” 

“Bye” I murmured watching him jog off. 

“Yeah, well, there he goes, back to the unattainable” Larry sighed as we continued to walk toward the yellow frisbee my father had thrown.  
_____________________________  
“I’m not though” I objected “I barely talk to my teachers” 

“Well that’s a whole nother issue now isn’t it” Larry muttered as we strolled through campus. 

“I can see where your classmates are coming from Abby I mean think about it” Amita advised “you hang out with Larry and Charlie most of the time and their both well known professors plus Charlie’s your uncle to” 

“You hangout with them more than I do and no one calls you a teacher's pet” I objected. 

“Charlie was my thesis advisor and I'm on my second doctorate here. No one is surprised to see me with them.” Amita explained “I worked into these social circles you had a head start” 

I sighed “maybe you have a point. Still I-” 

“Hey guys!” I was cut off by my uncle calling behind us. We turned in surprise as he jogged up to join us “Hey, I’ve got a complex data analysis problem.” he explained “any of you free? Well, all of you? I’d prefer all” 

“I… well, I have some, a couple of hours” Larry offered vaguely. 

“Yeah I can help my class got canceled for later today” I agreed “this for Don’s case?” 

“Uh huh” Charlie nodded “but it’s a lot of data and if he asks you didn’t actually help” 

“Fair enough” I shrugged.

“Charlie, have you seen the guest lecture schedule for this week?” Amita inquired in a change of subject. 

“No, I haven’t why?” Charlie asked then let off a breath of aggravation “oh, don’t... Damn it. Don’t tell me I’ve gotten stuck hosting another reception.” 

“No.” Amita objected and my uncle sighed in relief as I chuckled a little “Uh, some guy’s giving a talk on the asymptotics of random matrices” Charlie nodded in understanding.

“Hey you’ve done some distinguished work in that field haven’t you?” Larry pointed out. 

“Yes” Uncle C nodded. 

“THe guest lecturer’s name is-” 

“What the hell is that son of a bitch doing here?” Charlie interrupted looking past us. I turned my head quickly to see where he was looking. 

“To whom are you referring?” Larry asked in confusion. 

I saw a man in a pink shirt and grey blazer wave from across the courtyard and figured that this was the son of bitch my uncle was referring to. “Marshall Penfield.” 

“That’s the guy” Amita informed “the guy giving the talk” 

“Oh, really?” Charlie scoffed with a not so passie, passive aggressive tone. 

“How do you know him?” I inquired as the man started making his way toward us. 

“Marshall and I-” Uncle C began “we attended Princeton together. Every chance he got, he slammed my work. And the only keg party I ever threw,” Charlie paused as the man neared “he stole the keg- Marshall.” I was pretty sure at this point that the fake smile on my uncle’s face was trying to turn into a grimace.

“Hey, Eppesie” Marshall greeted and I held back a laugh at the nickname “you coming to the talk? It’s going to be a good one” 

“Well, I just heard about it.” Charlie informed. “Ever so excited. Wondering what your subject could be” Me, Amita, and Larry looked between the two men as they stared daggers at each other. 

“Oh, same old, same old” he murmured and turned to the three of us gathered “Hi. How you doing?” 

“You found a new approach?” Charlie asked, calling back the man’s attention and stepping between Penfield and Amita “Only because I recall your earlier attacks on my analysis of Plancherel measures. You made an ass of yourself” 

Marshall chuckled lightly “yes, but unlike you, I continued to work in the field. And I’ve made some interesting findings” I exchanged a look with Amita as the conversation continued between the pair. 

“Elaborate.” Charlie demanded. 

“A flaw, in your work.” Marshall clarified smugly and Charlie shifted on his feet “I’ll spare you the details. I’ll save it for the talk, but, bottom line. Your big breakthrough the Eppes Convergence? It’s wrong.” the pair stared each other down for a moment before Penfield looked to the rest of us with a smile “It was nice meeting you” he nodded and headed on his way. 

Uncle Charlie stared daggers after him. “Well shit” I murmured “I didn’t know you had an arch nemesis” I told my Uncle who gave me an annoyed look.  
_________________________  
**3rd POV.**

“So this lamp’s worth like $100,00.” Don stated as he taped the picture of the antique on the board with the other crime scene photos. He couldn’t stop his eyes from flicking to image of the father before he turned away. 

“Which, I imagine,” Megan continued next to him “you can’t just sell just anywhere.” 

“Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking” Don agreed as they turned to leave the meeting room “we should check into whatever markets deal with this kind of stuff, see if there’s any buzz.” 

“Mm hmm” Megan nodded. They headed over to their desks in the bullpen and Don sighed. “You good?” 

Don looked over at his partner who seemed minorly concerned “yeah I just-” he paused eyes tracking back to the meeting room “I just know what was going through those guys heads.” he explained “I mean if anyone laid a hand on my daughter” he let out a breath shaking his head. 

Megan smiled lightly at his protectiveness “we’ll catch ‘em Don don’t worry” she assured him. He nodded as they both turned back to their computers.  
______________________  
**Abby POV.**

“Okay I’m kidnapping you for the week” Nadia declared, setting down her stuff and taking the seat across from me at the table I’d claimed in the cafe. 

“Why?” I asked looking up at her from my homework. 

“Have you seen the guest lecture schedule?” she asked. 

“Yeah” I murmured. 

“Well there’s this really cute guy named Penfield who-” I snorted a laugh and my friend paused “what?” 

“Nothing,” I chuckled, “just my uncle and him apparently have a beef is all” I explained. 

“Oh” Nadia voiced nodding her head “that’s interesting. What about?” 

I shrugged “apparently they went to Princeton together and Penfield likes to disprove my Uncle C’s work and yadda yadda yadda” I waved my hand. 

Nadia hummed “well either way we’re going to that lecture” she declared. 

“Why?” I looked at her. 

“Did you miss the part where I said Penfield is cute or what?” Nadia pressed. 

“He’s not that cute” I objected “plus you might remember while you are nineteen turning twenty I’m still seventeen” 

“Yeah I always forget that” Nadia murmured “you just act old” 

“Thanks I’ll try to take that as a compliment” I muttered, turning back to my work. 

“Come on Abby you gotta put yourself out there” my friend encouraged “have some fun meet some people stop being such a teacher’s pet” 

I sat up quickly “okay who started that rumor!” I exclaimed in annoyance. 

Nadia giggled “come on Abbs please. Otherwise I have to go all alone” 

I sighed “fine I’ll go with you to the lecture” 

“Yes” Nadia cheered. 

“But just the lecture okay” I clarified. 

“Of course” Nadia agreed but her smile made me think that wouldn’t be the case. 

She began to pull her work out of her bag as I returned to my own. “Excuse me ladies” I looked up at the voice and was mildly surprised to see Marshall Penfield smile back. 

“Uh hi” Nadia replied, not hiding the surprise in her voice. 

“Hi, sorry to disturb” he explained looking to me “it’s just I saw you earlier with Eppsie and I wanted introduce myself properly.” he explained extending his hand “Marshall Penfield” 

I shook his hand looking at him suspiciously “Abby Calvin” I introduced “and this is Nadia Quarter” 

“Hi” my friend murmured.

“So are you one of Eppsie’s students?” Penfield inquired. 

“Uh yeah but uh I’m also his niece so” I shrugged. 

“Oh” Marshall made a look of surprise “I knew Eppsie had a brother but, uh, well it’s very nice to meet you” he told me with a smile “I hope to see both of you at my lecture as well” 

“You can count on it” Nadia agreed and he gave her one of his smiles. 

“Great then I guess I’ll see you both around” he said. 

“Sure will” Nadia agreed and the man flashed one more grin before walking away. “Oh my god” Nadia murmured once he’d walked out of earshot. 

“Cool it fangirl” I warned her with a smirk. 

“Teacher’s pet” she shot back with an equally joking smile and we shared a laugh.  
_______________  
“Penfield hates me” Charlie decreed getting side tracked again from the work we were doing. I let out an annoyed breath and sank deeper into the chair I was sitting sideways in. “it drove him crazy. I became the youngest person to ever publish a major paper, and when I gave my first seminar on the Eppes Convergence, he shows up with a button that says, uh, don’t believe the hype.” 

Both me and Larry chuckled slightly at that as my uncle returned to his chalkboard “okay. Well, that’s a little confrontational” Larry agreed. 

“No that’s hilarious” I objected “would have loved to be in that seminar” I didn’t have to look to feel my uncle’s glare. 

“But, I mean, you were a star in your field” Larry continued to council my uncle “you- you got to expect this kind of attention”

“This man has singled me out,” Charlie complained. 

“No.” the physicist objected “your status has singled you out. I mean, people- people are scrutinizing your work because of your reputation” 

“Like a price of fame type thing?” I asked and Larry gave a so-so side nod. 

“You must understand that’s why he’s doing it” Uncle C brought the focus back to him “to ruin my reputation” he leaned in closely to the table me and the other man were sitting at. “The Eppes Convergence made me. If it’s wrong, then what am I?” Charlie backed off going once again back to his chalkboard. 

“Well, you’re a talented, theoretician with an ego problem?” Larry suggested under his breath and I had to work to stifle my bought of laughter. 

“I’m sorry?” Charlie turned back to us. Larry hummed in dismissal as I smiled trying to focus back in on the math. Then Charlie’s phone rang. He answered it with a sigh “yeah.. Okay I’ll be right there” he hung up and turned to us “I have to go” 

“Okay” Larry murmured. 

“The computer lab says the algorithm for Don’s case kicked out some findings” the man explained heading out the door. 

“Well, wisdom and genius” Larry murmured watching him go “rarely present in equal abundance.” 

I shrugged “yeah but when they are you can solve a lot of the most complicated problems” I advised. 

Larry looked back at me “and that statement young Enigma is why I hope you don’t end up with an ego of that size” 

“Well then I’d say pray for humility but that never ends well” I scoffed and Larry chuckled lightly.  
______________  
“The development of any type of representation theory is usually split into two stages.” Penfield explained as I sat in his lecture between Nadia and Amita “the first is a description of all elementary representations. The second consists of constructing certain natural representations of the group, and decomposing them into irreducible ones.” he shifted over to the board behind him “what we see when we get deeper into the Eppes Convergence.” I glanced back to where I knew my Uncle was lurking in the back “is a small and, until now, undetectable conceptual roadblock.” I exchanged a look with Amita as both of us had our pens hovering over our notebooks “It’s an expression” Penfield continued “floating through these equations like a tiny blood clot, until it lands here,” he pointed to a section of the board and took out a red marker to circle the section in question “at the infinite-dimensional simplex, which causes a stroke to the entire theory.” 

My phone buzzed as Penfield continued and I pulled it out to set it on my notebook. 

_**Nadia-** you weren’t kidding when you said they didn’t like each other_

I glanced over at her and she gave me a look. I sighed and typed out my reply. 

_**Abby-** what did you think I was exaggerating? _

_**Nadia-** well I just figured they might actually act like adults _

_**Abby-** well they are attacking each other professionally and not in the parking lot so there’s that_

_**Nadia-** adults fight in parking lots _

_**Abby-** yeah but not normally distinguished professors_

_**Nadia-** lol can you imagine Penfield and your uncle duking it out in the parking lot?_

I horrible stifled a jolt of laughter which earned me a confused look from Amita as I shifted back into my seat and tried to focus on the lecture ignoring my best friend who was struggling to contain her own giggles.  
____________________  
After the lecture Nadia dragged me over to where Penfield was talking to some other people Amita trailed behind us. “Ah Abby and Nadia good to see you both” Penfield greeted us. “What did you think?” 

Nadia immediately replied with how much she enjoyed his analysis of my uncles work and various other parts of the lecture. 

“Thank you, what about you Abby?” he inquired. I shrugged “I imagine as an Eppes you were probably a little touchy about the Eppes Convergence but you have to understand that it’s just the math.” 

“I’m not an Eppes” I corrected “my last name’s Calvin. And yeah I get it’s the math you might want to cut back on the analogies though” I advised. 

“I liked the analogies,” Amita chimed in “they’re a great way to communicate with people who might not understand. Charlie uses them a lot to explain concepts to the FBI”

“True” I conceded. 

“Oh yeah I forgot your uncle works for the FBI” Nadia voiced. 

“Yeah I think I walked in on him talking to a couple agents earlier” Penfield chimed in. “Anyway I was thinking some of us could go get a bite to eat. I heard that there was this place nearby called Pie n’ Burger? It any good?” 

“Yeah it’s pretty good” Amita agreed. 

“Sounds like a plan,” Nadia agreed. 

I glanced back where Charlie was still in his seat further off. “What about you Abby care to join us?” Marshall asked. 

I opened my mouth to reply and got a small bump from Nadia “sure” I agreed. “Just give me a second” 

I turned heading for my uncle Amita followed with. “Charlie?” Amita greeted him first causing him to look up from his notebook “he does have a valid point about the end-point process on the one-dimensional lattice” 

“Right, Penfield’s blood clot to my brain” Charie muttered “or was it the torpedo in the engine room analogy? I forget” 

“Blood clot” I murmured and earned a look from my uncle. 

“Hey, Amita there you are.” Penfield approached “you two still up for Pie n’ Burger?” 

“Sure” Amita agreed “let me grab my stuff” Amita headed over to get her bag. 

“Abby?” Marshall asked.

“Yeah I don’t think Nadia will let me ditch” I murmured. 

Marshall chuckled “well I guess pushy friends are good every now and then” 

“Sure” I nodded awkwardly. 

“Hey, Eppsie” Marshall then turned to my uncle “heard you got a substance abuse problem with lemon meringue. It’s a gateway pie, you know. Why don’t you come meet us out front?” Marshall offered “you know, there’s a whole crowd of people going” 

“I’ll pass” Charlie objected tensely. Marshall nodded and turned “well I’ll see you in a minute then” He told me. 

After he walked off Chalie turned to me “the betrayal” 

I gave him an annoyed look. “Grow up Uncle C”

Charlie huffed. “Nadia wants to go?” he asked. 

I nodded “yeah but if you need help with the FBI case I can stay” 

“No, no” Charlie objected with a disheartened sigh “go be with your friend I’ll be fine” he shifted his papers “besides if Don finds out I let you help he’d be mad” 

“He let me help on the last case,” I pointed out. 

“I think the key there was he,” Charlie scoffed. I chuckled with him. 

“Hey Abby!” I looked up to see Nadia flagging me down. 

“I’ll catch up with you later,” I told my uncle. 

“Have fun” he offered a weak smile. I nodded and headed off to Nadia turning back to see Amita sitting down in front of Charlie.  
____________________  
“I like cream pie,” I declared. 

“Apple all the way” Nadia objected. 

“Very classic of you” Amita scoffed. 

“Yeah yeah” Nadia murmured just then the door to the bathroom we were waiting for opened and Nadia ducked inside. 

“So did you help Charlie on the FBI case?” Amita asked. 

“Yeah just some data crunching” I shrugged. 

Amita nodded “how’s your dad feel about that?” 

“He doesn’t know,” I replied. “Please don’t tell him” 

“My lips are sealed,” Amita chuckled. 

“So uh why didn’t you help?” 

Amita shifted “things with me and Charlie are complicated” she admitted “I want to focus on my work right now and if I work with Charlie..” 

“You won’t be able with him?” I clarified. 

Amita nodded. “Hey Amita, Abby, your orders are ready” Marshall called from the table where everyone was sitting. 

“Be over in a minute,” Amita called. “Hey Abby I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell Charlie what I said” 

“Yeah of course” I agreed a small smile coming to my face “as long as you don’t tell me dad about me working the FBI case” 

Amita chuckled slightly “deal”  
________________  
_**Nadia-** I can’t believe u _

_**Abby-** why? Am I a ghost? _

_**Nadia-** -_-_  
_U know 2 what I am referring_

_**Abby-** honestly I don’t_

_**Nadia-** Penfield!!!!_  
U have an in yet u don’t go for it

_**Abby-** what r u talking about? ___

____

____

_**Nadia-** ur killing me Calvin _  
U have so many more connections u could totally get the guy

_**Abby-** Nadia_  
_I’m 17_  
_I don’t want to date a guy my uncle’s age_

_**Nadia-** well then u could set a friend up_

_**Abby-** I think he’s into Amita sorry_

_**Nadia-** damn_  
_I might still have a chance though_  
_Maybe_

_**Abby-** or not_  
_Aren’t u in class right now anyway?_

_**Nadia-** yeah but Galuski is blind 2 phones_

_**Abby-** not the main issue u need to focus_

_**Nadia-** I am focusing!!!_

_**Abby-** not if ur txting me ur not_

_**Nadia-** ur no fun_

_**Abby-** goodbye _

I sighed, tossing my phone onto my uncle’s desk and ignoring the subsequent buzzing noises it made. I was working on my homework hidden away in my Uncle’s office as he worked in Larry's. My feet kicked up as I leaned back in his chair. 

A knock on the door made me look up “Charlie?” 

“He’s not here” I called as Amita poked her head in followed by Marshall. 

“Oh hey Abby” Amita smiled. 

“You look rather cozy don’t you?” Marshall quipped. 

I lowered my feet from the desk sitting up “only way I can get through this homework” I muttered plopping my notebook on the desk. 

Marshall scoffed, his eyes drifting to the chalkboard “is this that FBI case Eppesie was working on?” he asked. 

“Yeah something with set theory” I murmured, gesturing vaguely. 

“Yes I can see that you know…” he faded off with a familiar look in his eyes I’d frequently seen in Larry and Charlie’s eyes. “Where is your uncle?” Marshall inquired. 

“Larry’s office.” I replied exchanging a look with Amita “why?” 

“I think I can help with this” Penfield informed “can you show me Professor Fleinhardt’s office?” 

“Sure” Amita agreed I rose from my seat following the pair out of the room and down the hall toward the physicists office. 

“-it would be obvious that my genius would mandate upon my death the inclusion of my brain in the Smithsonian” Charlie rambled as he obviously didn’t realize the three of us entering the small office. I exchanged a look with Larry who unlike my uncle was facing the door. 

“I would actually prefer someone take my brain on a road trip like they did with Einstein’s but...” Marshall voiced causing a bit of alarm to flash over Charlie’s features as I stifled a laugh. 

“Hey Charlie” Amita greeted. 

“Hello” Charlie murmured in reply as I wandered over to sit next to the physicist in the room. 

“Charlie Marshall and I went to your office looking for you,” Amita explained “and uh, we kinda saw what was on the chalkboard”

“He was in my office” Charlie mouthed, shooting a momentary glare at me as he’d left it unlocked so I could study within. 

“Yeah, you had a problem that was of interest to me” Penfield explained his back still to Charlie “because it relates to my main field, set theory” he turned and saw the board beyond Charlie “well, this is it, isn’t it? This is the same thing right here.” 

“Could be” Charlie muttered his annoyance evidently mounting as he positioned himself between Marshall and Amita again “why?” 

“Marshall’s new research at Princeton is in set theory” Amita elaborated “in something he calls deep current sets” 

“What are those?” Charlie asked. 

“Chalk” Marshall requested and Charlie reluctantly relinquished the writing utensil. “Connections between groups that are hard to detect, but that affect all the other sets.” he explained writing on the board “kinda like how currents beneath the ocean surface can influence the weather patterns in the atmosphere” 

“There’s something underneath we can’t see” Charlie deduced the gears in his head beginning to turn. “Things that seem to have no connection are all linked by a common factor. Marshall have you developed any methods of analysis to help you define the unidentified connections?” 

“Oh, yeah, sure” Marshall said “even if I can’t tell you where the deep current is, I can tell you where to look” he tossed the chalk back to my uncle who fumbled to catch.  
_________________________  
“I think it’s a good thing you’re my best friend” Nadia stated as we got into her car. 

“Why’s that?” I inquired with a smile. 

“Because you know how to say no” Nadia decreed. “Which isn’t something I’ve heard a lot of” 

“Well isn’t that wise of you” I smiled. 

“Seriously though” Nadia told me. “Thanks” 

“Of course” Abby nodded “though I think that goes both ways” I advised her. 

“How so?” she asked as we drove. 

“Well without you I’d never hangout with anyone other than my uncle” I explained we shared a laugh. 

“Alright then,” Nadia declared as she pulled up outside the house “next step in the Abby Calvin socialization project will be parties” 

“Uh no” I replied unbuckling my seatbelt and grabbing my bag. 

“Oh come on it’ll be fun” Nadia encouraged. 

“I am still a minor” I advised her. 

“That doesn’t mean you can’t have fun” Nadia objected. “It’ll be a blast, your first party. 

I didn’t have the heart to tell her whatever party she dragged me to wouldn’t be my first. “I’ll think about it” I declared as I got out of the car. 

“I’ll take that win,” Nadia decreed. 

“See you tomorrow” I called. 

“See you” she replied as I headed for the front door and she drove off. 

I went inside to find my grandfather at the kitchen table. “Evening” I called. 

He looked up with mild surprise “I thought you were at your dad’s tonight” 

I froze in my step in the foyer “I am?” I muttered. “Oops” 

Alan shook his head turning back to his puzzle “I guess you stay here enough anyway just make sure you tell Don” 

“Yeah, yeah” I muttered, pulling out my phone as there was a knock on the door. 

“It’s open,” my grandfather called. 

I turned as Amita and Larry came in. “hey,” Amita greeted “Charlie’s supposed to come with us to a seminar,” she explained. 

“Oh, he’s out in the garage” Alan informed, getting to his feet as I finished sending my text to my father. He leaned into the kitchen door “He, Charlie, your friends-” he was yelling then turned back in a normal voice “here he comes. He’s been out in the garage all day” 

“Hey, guys,” Charlie greeted hurrying into the room “you know what? Go on ahead without me, maybe I’ll catch up” he advised then glanced at me “you know what take Abby with you she’ll enjoy the experience” 

“Say what?” I murmured in confusion. 

“Cause I’m a little caught with something right now” he continued despite my interjection. 

“That are you working on?” Amita asked. 

Charlie smiled “a unified theory of the neural network and higher cognitive functions” he explained.

“The math of the brain” Larry mused 

“I’d better stick to it, too” Charlie advised “it might take me awhile” he added heading back to the door “say several decades” 

“Attaboy” Larry encouraged before Charlie disappeared back toward the garage. 

“Yeah, what is it they say?” Alan chuckled “the journey is more important than the destination?” 

“So true” Larry agreed 

“You guys aren’t actually going to drag me to a seminar are you?” I asked tossing my bag on the couch and heading to the dining table with the others. 

Amita flashed me a smile before turning to my grandfather “you’re doing a jigsaw puzzle” 

“Oh, yeah, it’s 5000 pieces” Alan explained “my wife used to do them all the time” Amita sat at the table and started looking over the pieces I came over and looked already seeing where several pieces needed to go. “So what do you say you skip the seminar, and we’ll order in some pizza?” 

“I love jigsaw puzzles,” Amita stated. 

“And I love pizza” Larry voiced. 

“And I can not stand another seminar this week” I declared and we all shared a laugh settling down to work on the puzzle.


	21. Fathers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This specific chapter deals with some particularly triggering content if you've seen the episode then you know what I'm talking about. It is discussed by the characters further in this but nothing graphic is described at any point that isn't in the show. I just want any readers that could be triggered by this content to be warned.

“Big ass explosion and the computer lives” I muttered from where I was perched on my uncle’s desk. 

“Indeed though it was highly damaged” Charlie informed. 

“Resilient still” I murmured and my uncle hummed in response typing on his laptop. 

“So did they send her home?” Larry asked as he entered the office. 

“I told you, Larry, Megan’s okay” Charlie insisted. 

“Yeah, but this agent was killed, right?” the physicist questioned, pacing the room. 

“Yes” Charlie confirmed and I shifted. 

“Well, I mean, she’s going to feel responsible” Larry determined. 

“I was there, it was clearly not her fault,” Charlie explained. 

“But this degree of traumatic experience would disturb even the most stable of homo sapiens” Larry decreed. “This is not even to take into account the double X chromosome situation” 

“Situation?” Charlie asked as we both looked up at the physicist and exchanged a look.

“Yeah. Women have two X chromosomes” Larry explained coming over “men have an X and a so-called Y. But I think if you examine it closely, you’ll find, as I have, that the Y is really just an X with a piece missing” 

“Implying what?” My uncle inquired with a skeptical edge. 

“Well, since I’m missing that very piece, I may not be qualified to answer, but I think it has something to do with, you know, they’re just more sensitive” Larry’s gaze shifted to me. 

“As one who does have said missing piece” I voiced “and who was also commonly mistaken for a boy growing up. I don’t get it” 

“Perhaps it’s that they can bear children” Charlie pointed out logically. 

“Yeah, well, that, too, I guess” Larry murmured. 

“Or women are just altogether superior” I suggested sarcastically which gained a scoff from my uncle and a thoughtful nod from Larry. 

“Do you think it’s inappropriate if I were to send her flowers?” Larry inquired. 

“Depends on the type of flowers” I advised. “Mean different things” 

Larry nodded and looked like he was about to inquire more when Charlie spoke up leaning toward his screen more “this is so odd” 

“What?” Larry asked. 

“This process is introducing more artifacts,” Charlie explained. 

“Hey Charlie,” Larry voiced, shifting to look at the screen better “steganography” I looked back and squinted at the picture. 

“Stega-who-graphy?” we all turned to see my grandfather having walked into the room. 

“Steganography” Larry reiterated as Charlie greeted his father. The physicist flipped around to type on the laptop eyeing the picture on the projector screen. 

“I was in the area.” Alan explained his appearance “I was having a meeting with Rolf Peterson, the engineer for my downtown mall project. You want to, ah, want to take a look?” he began to spread the plans over the other table in Charlie’s office. 

“Oh, yeah, always” Larry agreed finally stepping away from the laptop but still eyeing the picture like it might come off the screen and attack him. 

“Sure Gramps” I also agreed, hopping off the desk and walking over. 

“There you go” Alan spread out the plans. “What is this, steganography?” he inquired. 

“It’s the classic, you know, picture hidden in a picture thing.” Charlie explained. “Only this is digital steganography, isn’t it?” Charlie asked the elder professor in the room. 

“Yeah.” Larry agreed, eyes again latching onto the picture. 

“Where one image is embedded in the coding of another” Charlie explained. 

“Yeah, it’s very hot right now” Larry informed. 

“Oh, yeah I’ve seen this. Nadia uses it to hide photos she takes at parties from her nosy parents” I explained. 

“The defense department is encrypting satellite imagery” Charlie informed “though probably at a far more complicated level than Nadia is” 

“Oh? How do they do that?” Alan asked, looking at the picture of the blurry house. 

“Now, I’ll show you” Larry declared heading over to one of Charlie’s shelving units “simply take a CD” he raised up the item in question. “And I look for the nearest sharp object” he surveyed Charlie’s desk before settling on a sundial “that’ll do” and he began to scratch the CD with the sundial. 

“Why are you ruining the CD?” Alan asked in confusion. 

“No, if I scratch a record, it would ruin it” Larry corrected “but this CD will still play. I’ve created gaps in its readable data but..” 

“The software fills in the gaps” Charlie picked up the explanation “making educated guesses as to what it should be, resulting in complete images from partial data” 

“Point to be made that they don’t always guess accurately and you might get a little hiccup in your music but normally nothing too bad” I added on. 

“Back to the point,” Larry intercepted “since we suspect that there is an image hidden in this picture…” 

“We try to tell the computer to look at it in another way” Charlie finished typing on the computer. “I’m going to try adjusting the pixels by one more negative power” 

The edges of the picture began to shift and move turning black “okay, and you can see the edges are deteriorating” Larry narrated for Alan. 

“Yeah” the city planner acknowledged “so who’s the criminal?” 

“It’s some methamphetamine dealer” Charlie explained “let’s see what this does” he plugged something else into the computer. 

The image then began to change rapidly from top to bottom until the image was clear. I gasped taking a step back in shock and horror “oh god” Larry voiced what we were all thinking as I thought I might be sick.  
_________________  
“Turn it off,” Don ordered his brother turning away from the screen. I felt his eyes drift to me where I sat on the arm of the chair my bag was sitting in. I was fidgeting with my blinders in my hand. 

“I’ll take the girl’s image out of the picture..” whatever my uncle said next was drowned out by the loud creaking of a door as I blinked and my vision turned to a dark room. I blinked again and was back in the office turning my head to look at each of the doors that were still exactly how they should be. 

Don was talking now asking for details about the picture. When I turned back to look there was another figure standing in the middle of the room. I gasped lightly and stood up. “You alright Abby?” I looked to my grandfather after the figure went away. 

“Yeah I just lost my balance” I assured him with a lie as the brothers continued to discuss the photo. 

“... the photograph could’ve been taken even five years ago” Don pointed out. 

“You know what, I'll make you a copy” Charlie declared. I looked at the blinders in my hand wondering if putting them on would make the war going on in my head worse or better. 

“That’s all right, give it to me” Don was telling his brother “our guys will know what to do.” 

“Except they didn’t find this picture, did they?” Charlie objected, still holding tightly to the flashdrive my father was reaching for. 

I shifted on my feet and blinked again finding myself yet again in that bedroom. I closed my eyes focusing on repeating the fact that I wasn’t there anymore over and over again in my head. I was in Charlie’s office. I was safe. 

Raised voices had me opening my eyes again as Charlie and Don were arguing and Larry was fleeing out of the office. It felt like my head was spinning as each blink of my eyes took me back to that place. The place I never wanted to be again. 

“You got to understand the reality of crimes like this-” 

“Excuse me, I understand the reality!” 

“What the hell are you doing!” 

Alan focused on his warring sons. No one's eyes were on me as I covered my ears and closed my eyes. Trying to stay out of that dark room. 

_“Looks like it’s just you and me, Abigail”_

“Shut up!” I snapped suddenly, opening my eyes. All three men turned to me immediately and the brother’s stopped and fell silent. “Just shut up. The reality of these crimes? Neither of you have any idea about her reality. Because neither of you know what it’s like to be a little girl all alone in the hands of a monster. So shut the hell up stop fight and just- and just help” my voice broke at the end and I felt a new wave of fear hit me. 

“Abby” Don murmured looking at me in shock. 

“I- I have to get to class,” I declared quickly, grabbing my bag and bolting from the room, my heart still racing. I turned into the first women’s restroom I found and went to the handicap stall closing the door and leaning against the wall taking long deep breaths as I sank to the floor.  
__________________  
**3rd POV.**

Charlie finally relinquished the flashdrive after the men had recovered from Abby’s outburst. Don exchanged a look with a concerned Alan as he left the office. The FBI agent looked up and down the hallway but Abby had effectively disappeared. He sighed looking down at the flashdrive in his hand. 

She’d been extremely angry. That wasn’t like her. The only times Don had heard Abby raise her voice was when he got shot and didn’t tell her and when he’d attempted to ground her without explanation. Both had been during the first couple months of her coming to live with him and since then she’s never yelled. At least not with him present. 

Don got in his car and sat there for a minute. This wasn’t anything like the last times though. There was something else in her voice. Pain? The FBI agent almost felt bad analyzing his daughter as if she were someone involved in a case. She had her blinders in her hand. Don suddenly thought. Intrusive memory? 

Don’s stomach sank. He felt like he was going to throw up. What intrusive memory from Abby’s past could this case have brought up? Don didn’t want to know the answer to that question.  
________________________  
“Charlie?” Alan questioned as he was awoken by someone entering the house.

“No. hey, dad. It’s me, Don” Alan’s eldest son replied coming over to the living room. 

“Oh, hey” Alan greeted tiredly. 

“Sorry to wake you.” Don apologized. “Where is he?” 

“Oh, I think he’s at his office, working on your case.” Alan explained “Abby’s with him” 

“Oh, yeah? Good for him” Don muttered “I was hoping she’d be here” 

“Yeah” Alan mumbled. 

Don sighed “We’ve hit nothing but dead ends and Charlie doesn’t have his head in the game” 

“You know it’s 1:00 in the morning?” Alan asked.

“Yeah, so what, I’m working” Don pointed out “another reason my teenage daughter should be here” 

“Listen hardass” Alan grumbled then started to raise his voice as Don turned away and started heading toward the kitchen in annoyance “I know he’s got a job that he’s doing. I know all about that-” Alan sighed and got up to follow his son “it’s just that this case is messing with his head. You know?” Don disappeared into the kitchen to get a beer from the fridge. He was going to need one considering how this conversation was going. “It’s reminding him of something that he’s feeling guilty about.”

“Why?” Don asked coming back into the dining room, beer in hand “what, did he do something I don’t know about?” 

“No” Alan sighed “it’s not what he did, it’s what he didn’t do” the elder man explained “he saw this girl, one time, and she was in trouble and he, um, he didn’t save her. I mean, how the hell could he, he was only a child at the time. But, you know, being Charlie, he’s got a big heart and he feels responsible. And now, to atone he’s banging his head against a door that’ll never open. You’re never going to find this girl, are you?” 

“Well, dad, you know, I mean, the odds are against it, but he’s got to learn, you know?” Don explained “everyone gets emotional you still gotta do your job.” 

“Listen, Don, this is a life that you’ve chosen for yourself. I’d rather you not choose it for Charlie” Alan grumbled. 

“What’d you say he’s at the school? Abby too?” Don asked. 

“I couldn’t get him to come home.” Alan informed “and Abby… she- she wouldn’t even talk to me” 

Don bit his lip “something’s up with her” 

“Yeah I know” Alan murmured “have you talked to her?” 

Don shook his head “she won’t answer her phone. Dad, the way she reacted to the case,” Don had to take a deep breath and think about what he would say next because the very thought of mentioning what was in his head was terrifying “what it’s like to be a little girl all alone in the hands of a monster” Don breathed “that’s what she said. She was alone all that time-” 

“She had her mother” Alan objected “Janice, they had each other” 

“I know dad but-” Don looked down at the bottle in his hand “she didn’t have a father” 

Alan looked at his son sadly “that’s not your fault Donnie. You had no way of knowing she was out there. You can’t hold yourself responsible. You’re here now” 

“Yeah I’m here now I didn’t even know she was still at the school just now” Don bit his lip “you know my work… it’s a lot. She doesn’t deserve to have her life thrown around by my life” 

“Well it’s a little late for that Don” Alan said drawing his son's eyes up to him “she’s your daughter, your flesh and blood, a member of this family. Though you might not have had her around for sixteen years she’s here now and- and now that you two know each other you can’t just break apart. You’re a family. You’re connected and anything you do will affect her for good or for bad that’s how it works” 

“You think I’m a good father?” Don murmured. 

“You’ve already asked me that question before Donnie,” Alan pointed out. 

“I know but now that she’s actually here” Don clarified. 

“The answer is still the same” Alan reassured his son. “You’ll be the best dad you possibly can be. And you are.” Don nodded as Alan turned and headed toward the stairs. Leaving Don to mull over his thoughts in the dining room.  
________________  
**Abby POV.**

I sat on a bench stargazing with Larry and Charlie. I was seated with my butt on the back of the bench, feet in the seat while they both lounged. After my classes I’d returned to Charlie’s office to help him work. I didn’t want to go home, Alan wasn’t afraid to ask questions. I didn’t want to answer any. The mathematician and physicist however, didn’t bring up my outburst beyond Charlie giving me a wary glance. 

“Rigel is particularly bright tonight” Larry voiced. 

Charlie hummed in acknowledgement “if he’s using advanced coding to hide his child pornography. Well, then he’s a-” Charlie cut off not sure what to add to the end. 

“Bastard” I offered. 

“Yeah.” Larry hummed “but also A.) He’s an intelligent pedophile; B.) he’s paranoid; C.) He’s cautious;”

“Which are basically the same thing” I muttered in annoyance. 

“And D.)” the physicist continued “He’s I don’t know, what is D?” 

“D is that he’ll apply these same techniques to other information he wants to conceal” Charlie deduced, exchanging a look with me. 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah” Larry agreed, gesturing with his finger “I see what you mean. So, one might assume a ratio of most dangerous information hidden with most advanced coding and-” 

“The entire hard drive’s encrypted” Charlie sighed. 

“Which doesn’t help us” I mumbled, leaning my head down to rest on my knees. .

“Or is it partitioned” Larry mused and I popped my head up. 

“A phantom hard drive” me and Charlie voiced in unison then looked at each other before bolting from the bench. It was only a moment before we paused so Charlie could go back to collect the physicist 

“We gotta get to the computer lab as fast as we can,” Charlie explained. 

“I know a shortcut through metallurgy” Larry advised. Soon we were with the crowd of students in the lab running through data. “There’s only two gig of storage here” Larry commented as we worked. 

“Yeah, I tried the FDISK command” Charlie explained “it’s rebooting I’m guessing” 

“Great” I grumbled from my computer on my uncle’s other side. 

“A second partition huh?” Larry muttered. 

“There’s got to be an executable file to access the hidden operating system” Charlie voiced. 

“Yeah the trick is finding it” I pointed out looking through the code. 

“What’s the deal there’s more people in here in the middle of the night then at 10:00 in the morning” I looked up at my father’s voice to see he’d entered the space. “It’s like the FBI” 

“Yeah, less distracting at night” Larry explained as I centered back in on my computer “deeper thinking”

“Yeah? What are you guys doing?” Don asked coming around to look at the computer screens. 

“Trying to follow the logic of an intelligent paranoid pedophile” Larry muttered. 

“Lamberg created a phantom hard drive,” Charlie explained. 

“What do you mean?” Don asked leaning closer to his brother “like it’s there but you just can’t find it?”

“Exactly” Charlie murmured. “It’s a mathematical illusion, like the magician’s disappearing trick” 

I scoffed “Tricks right” my brain thinking back to a boy spinning in a chair before a computer as a red haired girl laughed. I was glad for the happy memory considering all the dark ones that had been encroaching my mind. 

“The computer's hard drive looks perfectly normal at first glance” Charlie explained “like the magician’s box. But there’s a hidden place, an unseen, secret compartment. Lamberg did the same thing with his computer. He hid his data in a separate, secret place. It’s a trick, you know? It's a very clever computer partition trick” 

“So what do you think? Can you find it?” Don asked. 

“I think…” Larry spoke up “I just did” 

I looked up and shifted over with my uncle to look at Fleinhardt’s screen. “Okay, here we go” Charlie murmured. “Hmm just as we thought huh? The data’s been encrypted” 

“Well, come on, Charlie,” Don whined “you with all your NSA experience, you can’t break that?” 

“Well, this discrete logarithm provides quite an obstacle” Larry informed. 

“Wait, look, it's based on a super singular curve, the cryptosystem” I pointed out, remembering the look of the encryption. 

Charlie looked back at me in surprise “you’re right that makes it far less problematic” 

“How’d you know that?” Don asked. 

“I had a, uh friend who used a similar encryption” I murmured vaguely “he got hacked and changed it” I waved off anymore of my father’s comments as I typed quickly on the keyboard. 

“You guys think he has, what,” Don questioned “like a background in math or intelligence or something?” 

I scoffed “no, my friend got it off the internet” 

“It’s downloadable from the net,” Larry clarified “high school kids are encrypting files from their parents’ prying eyes, even as we speak” 

“I got it,” I announced once I’d finished. 

“Wow, okay” Charlie murmured looking over my shoulder. “Some of the data has been damaged in the explosion” 

“Which was expected,” I reminded. 

“But there’s fragments we can read” my uncle finished. 

“Our despicable felon is a proud member of” the physicist pointed to the screen. 

“The Long Beach Gun Club” Charlie stated. 

“Oh, that’s a good lead” Don told us pulling out his phone “Hey, call me if you get anything else on him”

“Yeah, we’ll keep looking,” Charlie assured as my father went to leave “loop me into what you know it might help my search” 

“Alright” Don agreed and then he looked at me before he started talking to Colby on the phone and ducked out of the lab. Calling one more thank you before disappearing.  
__________________  
“Well I opted to send Megan seven aromatic white tuberoses anonymously” Larry explained as I slung my backpack on. Glad to be going home but still too anxious to sleep. 

“Well, what good is it if she doesn’t know it’s you?” Charlie pointed out as he grabbed his bag following me and Larry toward the door. 

“Well, I’m a physicist Charles” Larry reminded “I believe she’ll still feel the cloud of virtual possibilities surrounding her, even as she’s not yet identified the particle” 

“Or she’ll think some random guy is just sending her flowers” I advised and Larry hummed as Charlie locked up his office door. 

“Are you talking about vibes?” Charlie asked. 

“Yeah, well somewhat crudely put, but..” Larry sighed. 

Then there was a ringing from inside the office that called our attention “oh, wait. Yeah, that’s my fax machine” Charlie informed reopening the door. “I asked Don to send me Lamberg’s photo” 

“Curiosity” Larry mused as we re-entered the office “not great for cats, but very good for scientists” I hummed in agreement as Uncle C got the photo from the machine. 

I shifted around to look at the photo in Charlie’s hand wishing I could glare holes into the man’s head through the paper. “You know, I’ve seen this guy.” Charlie voiced I looked at him in surprise. 

“Is that the infamous Lamberg, huh?” Larry murmured still looking at the photo of the man holding a gun with a target behind him. 

“He was just in the FBI office,” Charlie revealed. 

“What?” I asked, stepping back. “Call Don” 

“Right” Charlie muttered heading over to his bag and pulling out his phone still looking at the picture. 

I listened to half the conversation as Larry began to fiddle with Charlie’s hourglass. I reached into my bag and fished out my blinders. Holding them in my hand reassuringly. Until Charlie hung up the phone. 

“And you’re sure it was him” Larry clarified. 

“Infinity” Charlie reaffirmed pointing to the symbol on Lamberg’s hand in the photo. 

“Aristotle said that infinity is the lack of limitation.” Larry mused taking the picture from my uncle “which, I suppose, could be a definition of evil”  
______________________  
**3rd POV.**

Megan left the office in a rush going to drag Colby out to Union Station. Don sighed the caffeine in his system barely doing anything to help slow the fog encroaching on his mind. He looked to his brother who sighed. 

“You know, I didn’t mean to imply earlier that you weren’t doing everything you could for this child” Charlie murmured. 

“You should go home too,” Don told his brother going to leave the room. 

“We haven’t caught him yet” Charlie objected following his brother. 

The pair headed through the office over to the observation room where Nadine was observing the interviews of both the mother and daughter. 

“... he tried to offer me more drugs. You know? To shut me up.” the mother was saying. “But I ran away, me and Lib.” Nadine muted the room and turned to the brothers. 

“The mother’s not stable.” she declared “she’s only been off meth for three weeks. I don’t think that we can leave the girl in her custody” 

Charlie shook his head and looked to argue but Don raised his hand to stop him “hol- hold on. You know, I think she made a pretty heroic effort for that kid.” 

“I understand that, Don,” Nadine acknowledged. 

“Where else can she go?” Charlie asked. 

“Foster care” Nadine suggested. 

“Ah, no,” Don objected, shaking his head and looking at the pair through the glass he had to try not to imagine them as Abby and Janice. 

“I don’t know,” Nadine admitted. 

“She tried to save her kid.” Charlie pleaded “that has to count for something” 

“Didn’t your office seize most of Lamberg’s assets?” Don asked turning back to Nadine. 

“Yeah, I filed the order myself.” she explained. 

“Why can’t the U.S. Attorney’s office use those assets to help his kid, help them both get on their feet?” Don suggested. 

“If we can prove he abused her” Nadine stated. 

“He had pictures of her on his computer.” Charlie pointed out. 

“Come on, her bedroom was in a superlab.” Don added on “I mean, they test her, we’re gonna find traces of meth in her blood, in her hair” 

“Okay, let me talk to her.” Nadine agreed. 

“Please” Charlie pleaded as Don showed her to the room before rejoining his brother in the observation room. 

“Where’s my mom?” Libby asked softly as Charlie unmuted the audio.

“She’s just right next door” Nadine reassured her. “So your dad never touched you?” she asked. 

“No” Libby objected. 

“He never hurt you?” Nadine pressed further as the girl avoided eye contact

“No. Stop asking me” Libby stated turning away. 

“See how her eyes flicker and she looks to the right?” Don pointed out. 

“She’s lying,” Charlie deduced. Don nodded. 

“We want to stop him from hurting you, Libby, or anybody else,” Nadine assured the girl. “Are you afraid of him?” she paused so the girl could respond but she just took a shaky breath “Look, you don’t have to say anything. Just, you can nod your head yes or no. Are you scared of him?” Libby nodded her head looking close to tears “yeah, okay. What about your mom? Are you scared of her?” 

“No.” Libby replied “can I see her now?” she asked. 

“Sure,” Nadine agreed, turning to look at the glass. 

“This can be overcome, right?” Charlie desperately asked “it’s possible for this child to grow up to live a normal life?” 

Don nodded “I mean, We’re doing everything we can to help her, right?” Charlie nodded and they were silent for a moment “did you talk to Abby about what she said?” 

“No” Charlie admitted “but I don’t think she’s angry at us anymore. Have you?” 

“No,” Don sighed, shaking his head. “You know there are sixteen years of her life that I know nothing about” he voiced “and- and how she reacted to this case, this girl, she- she” he bit his lip “she once said that Janice had a lot of really not great boyfriends” 

Charlie looked to his brother surprised “you don’t think she was-” 

“I don’t know what to think about it Charlie” Don admitted. “Father’s are supposed to protect their kids and I wasn’t there” 

“You’re here now,” Charlie advised. 

“Yeah but that doesn’t change the past” Don voiced. 

“No, but I suppose it does protect Abby’s future” Charlie stated, sharing a look with his brother before getting up to leave. Don watched him go before looking back at the little girl on the screen.  
_____________________  
Don walked into the house to see his father sitting in a chair doing a crossword. “Hey Donnie,” he greeted.

“Hey dad” Don replied “where’s Abby?” 

“Uh garage, I think” Alan advised. “Everything alright?” 

“Yeah, we got our guy” Don explained “and uh, you know thought I’d pick up Abby on my way home” 

“Alright” Alan agreed, looking at Don with the look that told Don when he was younger that he’d given his father more information on his mental state than he planned. 

Don headed back through the house toward the garage but stopped just as he got outside. Abby wasn’t in the garage; she was sitting out on the patio leaning against one of the support columns. Don sighed coming over and sitting next to her. He followed her eyes up into the stars. 

“You catch him?” she asked. 

“Yeah we did” Don murmured. Abby nodded not looking over at him. Don cleared his throat taking a deep breath “Abby I’m sorry” She turned to look at him at this “whatever happened to you when I wasn’t there. I- I’m sorry. I’ve missed sixteen years of your life and all that time is a mystery to me when really I should have been there for you and- and with my work I’ve been so focused I did-” 

“Stop” Abby told him and the man snapped his jaw closed turning to look her in the eyes “you don’t have to apologize.” she declared “I never blamed you for my life being how it was. Yeah you weren’t there but that’s not your fault” she sighed turning back to the stars “there are things- things I can’t talk about yet. And I don’t know if I ever will.” she bit her lip and Don almost scoffed at how alike they were in that moment “that girl- the reason I reacted the way I did I- I can’t tell you. I’m not there yet I just need you to understand that” 

Don let off a breath and nodded “okay, but you can- you can talk to me, always. I may not be good at it but I’ll always be here for you. From now on” 

Abby smiled, turning to look at him again “I know, Dad” Don smiled back and reached out pulling her into a hug she returned. 

“You eat yet?” he asked, looking down at her. 

“No, you?” 

“Nope” he replied “how about we go get something?” 

“Sounds like a plan” Abby nodded as they got up and headed back into the house together.


End file.
